This is a question I posed within an hour of learning that Joe Biden was bowing out of the race. Assuming that Kamala Harris replaces Joe on the ticket (which remains only an assumption at this point), who might she tap as her running mate? It's a far more important question for Harris than it was for Trump because her poll numbers are... not good, and she would need to leverage someone who might be able to fire up the base a bit more, particularly in the swing states. The New York Post hurriedly assembled some analysts to look over the field and predict who the leading contenders probably are. They came up with ten of them, most of whom will be familiar names to political junkies. Several of them bring some unique potential benefits to a Harris candidacy, while others are probably safer, more "generic" picks.

All eyes are on Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden’s beltway-quaking decision to drop out of the 2024 race — as speculation runs wild over who she would tap as a runningmate if she snags the nomination.

Harris quickly emerged as the frontrunner to replace Biden as the Democratic Party’s standbearer but has not left any major hints about whom she’d like to have as a runningmate.

Given the rushed timeframe to make a decision, she will have very little time to vet them and ensure that they’d work well together.

But with an intra-party scramble, it would appear likely that she’d tap into the pool of big names in her party that have already generated presidential buzz rather than a lesser-known figure.

Near the top of the list is Gavin Newsom. There was already plenty of talk about him replacing Biden at some point and he clearly has national ambitions, but there are also a few factors that could make him problematic. First, Newsom doesn't want to be the VP. He wants to be President. Also, he and Harris are both from California, so one of them would have to move out of the state pronto in order for both of them to appear on the ballot together and be eligible for California's electoral votes. It's the same problem that Donald Trump had to wrestle with when considering Marco Rubio as a running mate.

Pete Buttigieg also shows up high on the list. He also has presidential ambitions, but I'm not sure why he is being considered a strong contender. He's done a terrible job as the Secretary of Transportation (despite the fact that he's "always liked cars," apparently as his only qualification). He would essentially just be another DEI selection. 

Gretchen Whitmer makes the list and she's one of the obvious choices. She's from the battleground state of Michigan where Biden had been losing ground and she remains popular in her home state. She may be white, but at least she's a female so she checks another DEI box for the Democrats. She probably wouldn't be the worst choice Harris could make.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro shows up, probably only because his state is another critical one in this race. He seems like something of a non-starter to me though because his national name recognition is nothing to write home about. How well he would perform on the big stage remains to be seen.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore is also in the running and he's one person I was already watching closely. At least for Democrats, he has much to recommend him. He is popular in his home state with high approval ratings and he has pretty good "TVQ" as they say. He's still fairly young at 45 and he checks the DEI box because he's Black. Harris could do far worse, even though his national name recognition is also not particularly high. 

Rounding out the list are Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, JB Pritzker, and Andy Beshear. Those are all fairly vanilla picks who would probably be "safe" for Harris, but they also wouldn't make a particularly huge splash. We shouldn't have to wait too long to find out because the clock is ticking and the Democrats don't have long left to ensure their candidates appear on all of the states' ballots.

It's worth noting that Gretchen Whitmer was invited onto a call with the "Harris for President" team yesterday. Also, Wes Moore was among the first to come out and endorse Harris after Biden's announcement and he's already been invited to come to the White House and meet with her. That may or may not be an indicator that he's already high up on her list of potential picks.