Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has requested vetting materials for several potential VP candidates.

Those being vetted for the job include:

  • North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
  • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
  • Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
  • Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
  • Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ)

USA TODAY reports the Harris campaign also requested vetting materials from Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman who worked as a top aide in the Biden White House.

“I would color that doubtful,” Richmond told a New Orleans TV station, according to USA TODAY. 

Notably, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wasn’t on the initial list of those requested for vetting materials.

From the New York Post:

But Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — who was featured on several preliminary lists of Harris’ potential running mates — told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he had not been asked to submit anything to the Harris camp.

Beshear said Harris personally called him just hours after President Biden announced he was stepping off the ticket — but added that he would only consider the VP job if he felt he could help the people of Kentucky in that position.

“The only reason I’d ever consider something else is if I felt that I could help my people in Kentucky more in a different role or that there was a chance to move past the partisanship, the constant fighting,” he explained.

Harris, 59, took the helm of her presidential campaign over the weekend following Biden’s bombshell announcement that he would not seek re-election in November.

An Associated Press tally this week found that the former senator was backed by at least 2,214 delegates — well over the 1,976 delegates she needs to secure the Democratic Party nomination.

Per USA TODAY:

Whitmer also tried to take herself out of the running on Monday, telling a local TV station on Monday that she’s “not leaving Michigan.”

Notably missing from the Harris vice president vetting list that was shared by the source are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Both have been speculated as running mate possibilities for Harris, with Beshear telling MSNBC on Monday that he had spoken with the vice president since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.

The source familiar with the Harris vice president vetting process told USA TODAY other Democrats not included in the group of seven being vetted could still emerge as contenders but are not currently on the Harris campaign’s radar.

Sure enough, ABC News reported on Tuesday that Beshear is indeed among those who has been asked for vetting material.

Former Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder, who endorsed Harris this week, and Dana Remus with the law firm, Covington & Burling LLP, are leading the vetting process, according to the source familiar with the vetting effort.

Remus served as White House Counsel in the Biden administration, and led the vetting process for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her mid-2022 Senate confirmation.

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