Photo: Montinique Monroe Getty Images via Agence France-Presse The future candidate will form with Kamala Harris what Americans call a “ticket” for the November 5 election, and will become vice president if the Democrat wins.
Camille Camdessus – Agence France-Presse in Washington
Published at 14:58
- United States
Barely propelled into the race for the White House, Democrat Kamala Harris begins a crucial week on Monday for the selection of a running mate to strengthen her candidacy.
The American vice president, who replaced Joe Biden at short notice in his duel with Donald Trump, must announce in the next few days who she will choose to second her in the campaign.
The future candidate will form with Kamala Harris what Americans call a “ticket” for the November 5 election, and will become vice president if the Democrat wins.
“Condensed”
For a candidate for the White House, the selection of his running mate is the ideal opportunity to broaden his electorate, by choosing a profile that appeals beyond his base.
It is a process that generally lasts several months: experience, Hobbies, bank accounts and possible scandals are scrutinized.
But with Joe Biden's surprise withdrawal, that process has been “condensed” into a handful of weeks, notes Joel Goldstein, a professor at Saint Louis University.
According to multiple media reports, Kamala Harris will announce her running mate by August 7, less than 20 days after launching her campaign.
Rumors are rife about which candidate the 50-year-old will choose. But political observers seem to agree that it will probably be a white man.
If elected, Kamala Harris would be the first black woman to accede to the American presidency.
“And one of the characteristics of the selection of vice presidents is often the search for a kind of balance,” Joel Goldstein explains to AFP.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000For now, five names keep coming up: four governors — Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Roy Cooper (North Carolina), Andy Beshear (Kentucky), Tim Walz (Minnesota) — and a former astronaut turned senator, Mark Kelly.
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J.-D. Vance in turmoil
The selection process of Kamala Harris is being scrutinized all the more closely, as the running mate chosen by Donald Trump is himself the subject of very strong criticism.
The former president announced in mid-July that he had chosen J.D. Vance, a young senator with a rather atypical profile, to support him in his third campaign for the White House.
But this elected official from Ohio has seen his popularity rating plummet in recent weeks, particularly due to the resurgence of several videos that could potentially damage his “ticket” with Donald Trump.
In one of them, the former best-selling author mocks “unhappy cat ladies,” a reference to people who choose to live without a partner or child. Comments strongly denounced by several American stars.
In other sequences, J.D. Vance is also seen criticizing Donald Trump, a candidate to whom he now swears absolute loyalty.
“The Most Insignificant”
For Joel Goldstein, the turmoil that J.D. Vance is in illustrates how sensitive the process of selecting a running mate is: “The first questions to ask are, above all, can they survive a thorough examination? And is this a plausible president?,” he lists.
In the United States, the position of vice president is in fact primarily designed to replace the president in the event of his death or resignation.
In total, nine vice presidents have acceded to the presidency under these conditions. The most recent: Lyndon Johnson after Kennedy's assassination and Gerald Ford after Nixon's departure over Watergate.
Other than that, the role as described in the Constitution is extremely limited.
John Adams, the first vice president in American history, had complained bitterly about his fate in a letter to his wife Abigail in 1793: “My country has, in its great wisdom, designed for me the most insignificant post ever imagined by Man.”