WASHINGTON — The vetting team for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has met with six potential running mate contenders as her selection process nears its end, two sources familiar with the campaign said.
The six contenders are Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
All of them are around the same age as Harris, 59, or younger, and most have already stumped for the vice president on the campaign trail or in media appearances since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Shapiro met with Harris’ vetting team on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the meeting. The vice president was not present, the source said.
Shapiro canceled fundraisers in the Hamptons this weekend originally scheduled to raise money for his PAC, his press secretary Manuel Bonder confirmed. “His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend,” Bonder said.
Two sources familiar said Kelly met with Harris’ vetting team Tuesday afternoon. Kelly missed at least two votes on the Senate floor on Wednesday between noon and 6 p.m. ET, one source said. His aide said he was “off campus.”
Pennsylvania and Arizona are considered critical battleground states needed to win the Electoral College.
Pritzker sat for two Zoom interviews with Harris’ vetting team, one three-hour session on Monday and a follow-up session on Wednesday that included some questions on policies.
NBC News previously reported the list of candidates who received vetting materials, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, but she later made clear she wants to finish her term as governor rather than be Harris’ vice president. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also withdrew his name from consideration.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Harris told reporters she had “not yet” chosen her running mate, but the decision is expected by next Tuesday when Harris is set to appear with her choice for the first time during a battleground state tour that begins in Philadelphia, a source familiar told NBC News.
A source familiar with the process strongly cautioned against reading too much into the location, saying Philly was chosen in a vacuum apart from Shapiro.
The tour next week also includes visits to western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, North Carolina; Phoenix; Las Vegas; and Savannah, Georgia.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee’s virtual roll call to nominate Harris for president began Thursday and is expected to end Monday. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison announced Tuesday that only Harris qualified for the ballot and 3,923 delegates petitioned to put her on the ballot for the nomination. The DNC said that Harris secured the support of 99% of participating delegates.
Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Barack Obama, is leading the vetting process for Harris as part of his role as senior counsel at Covington & Burling LLP.
Gabe Gutierrez, Alex Seitz-Wald, Allan Smith and Natasha Korecki contributed.
