It’s time to choose: Kamala Harris, now the official Democratic candidate for the US presidential election, is due to announce the name of her running mate on Tuesday, with whom she will then begin a multi-day tour of key states for the election.
The one who would become the vice-president of Mme Harris, if elected on November 5 against Donald Trump, will be present for a first tandem meeting on Tuesday evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
They will then continue with several other pivotal states between now and Saturday for a tour that should set the tone for their understanding and complementarity.
Pennsylvania is one of the states that carried Joe Biden to the White House in 2020 and that Democrats will have to conquer again in November.
The governor of this northeastern state, Josh Shapiro, 51, is the favorite to accompany Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, but the suspense will have lasted until the end.
In an email to her supporters Monday night, Harris reiterated that she had not yet made her decision despite their impatience.
In mid-August, the woman who aims to become the first woman to take the keys to the White House will celebrate her inauguration at her party’s national convention in Chicago.
The lucky winner should allow Kamala Harris to appeal to a broader electorate than the one already leaning towards her and help her compensate for her weaknesses.
The vice president had only two weeks to make her choice, while this selection process usually takes months, after the thunderbolt of Joe Biden’s withdrawal of candidacy on July 21.
“Land of freedom”
The list of leading contenders includes two other white men: Tim Walz, a Minnesota governor with an unusual background, and Mark Kelly, a former astronaut turned Arizona senator.
The names of Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, or the current Minister of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, are also circulating, but with much less insistence in recent hours than that of Shapiro.
In mid-July, a few days after being the victim of an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump chose as his running mate JD Vance, a 40-year-old senator from Ohio, another industrial state in the northeast.
But the latter has been embroiled in controversy, proving to be more of a thorn in the side than an asset for the time being.
In the coming days, Mr. Vance is scheduled to travel to some of the same states as the Democratic duo, to carry the Trumpist message, which accuses Mr.me Harris to be responsible for the migration crisis.
Former President Donald Trump, who recently accused his opponent – born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother – of having “gone black” for political reasons, also blamed her on Monday for the woes of the American stock markets, which are on the verge of panic.
The Democratic candidate, who is campaigning on protecting abortion rights, regularly points out Trump’s excesses and sums up the election with one question: “What kind of country do we want to live in? A country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
Over the past two weeks, Kamala Harris has caught up with Joe Biden’s lead over Donald Trump in voting intentions and seen her fundraising soar, marking a flawless start to the campaign – but one in which she will have to maintain the good momentum over the next three months.