The competitive, divisive primary that many Democrats long wanted to avoid has arrived anyway — playing out largely behind closed doors in a fight over the bottom of the ticket.
The final stage of the campaign to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate reached something of an ugly phase in recent days as donors, interest groups and political rivals from the party’s moderate and progressive wings lobbied for their preferred candidates and passed around memos debating the contenders’ political weaknesses with key demographics.
They turned most sharply on one of the favorites to join the ticket, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has drawn opposition from progressives and even a senator in his home state.
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The fissures among Democrats emerged as three leading contenders — Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — met with Harris at her residence in Washington on Sunday, before a decision that her campaign said would be announced by Tuesday.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, declined to comment on the meetings.
Harris is set to hit the campaign trail with her running mate this week, kicking off a five-day, seven-state tour with a Tuesday night rally in Philadelphia, where Shapiro is expected to be in attendance, whether he is her pick or not.
Progressive groups have trained their criticisms on Shapiro and Kelly, whom they accuse of being too conservative on key issues. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said during a Sunday interview on CBS that Kelly had “not really” assuaged the union’s concerns about his commitment to pro-labor legislation and that the organization had “bigger issues” with Shapiro’s support for school vouchers.
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