Following Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race, in what was already a clear uphill electoral battle for Democrats heading into November, the left is now forced to rally behind Kamala Harris—one the most unabashedly extremist and unlikeable figures in the history of American politics. As speculation continues to mount over who Harris will select as her running mate in the weeks leading up to the Democratic National Convention next month, a significant question remains: can the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee save Harris’s campaign and salvage their electoral hopes?
Even despite the media’s relentless and factually baseless insistence that Harris has amassed the “momentum” and “energy” necessary to soothe the Democrats’ intra-party chaos and defeat Donald Trump on Election Day, polling data shows that Harris is in just as perilous of a position as Biden.
With only one exception, every single poll released since Biden endorsed Harris as the Democrat nominee shows that Trump is beating her handily—winning by as much as seven points. Trump leads Harris by one point in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, three points in the latest CNN survey, and seven points according to Rasmussen Reports.
In the only poll with Trump down (commissioned by Reuters), Harris edges him out by only two points, which is well within the margin of error.
Unfortunately for Harris, swing state polls are not any more favorable. In polls released following Biden’s exit from the race, Trump leads Harris by five points in Arizona, two points in Pennsylvania, two points in Georgia, and one point in Michigan. And as Kamala continues to visit battleground states and introduce herself to voters across the nation, any “momentum” she has thus far achieved will almost certainly evaporate when voters become more familiar with her radical left-wing record.
Could any of the names on Harris’s VP shortlist, then, improve her odds?
By every indication, the answer is no.
Recent reports indicate that some of the primary figures being considered to run alongside Harris are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. While many of these figures have attempted to distinguish themselves as centrist liberals who can appeal to moderates, Independents, and working-class Americans, underneath the surface lies a shared record of extremism and left-wing fanaticism that will scare—rather than reassure—most voters.
Josh Shapiro, who was elected to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion in 2022 and previously served as the Keystone State’s attorney general, has a notorious record of being soft on crime. As Attorney General, he turned a blind eye to the rioting, looting, and carnage that unfolded during the George Floyd riots of 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shapiro closed K-12 schools and forced Pennsylvania children to wear masks.
As governor, Shapiro has aided and abetted the Biden-Harris administration’s open borders agenda, refusing to send the Pennsylvania National Guard to assist Texas in staving off the border crisis. He has also been an advocate for Harris’s position of unrestricted abortion-on-demand up until the moment of birth.
Mark Kelly, who has been in the U.S. Senate since 2020, was reportedly Barack Obama’s first choice as Biden’s replacement—and it’s not difficult to see why. As a senator, Kelly has rubber-stamped nearly every Biden-Harris policy, including voting against additional funding for border agents, voting against the border wall and “Remain in Mexico,” and supporting mass amnesty and sanctuary cities—even despite himself representing a border state.
Kelly also supported the Biden-Harris spending sprees that triggered rampant inflation and cosponsored legislation that would ban Voter ID.
Though his status as a former Navy captain and astronaut has thus far gone a long way in cloaking his extremism, voters should not be fooled: a Vice President Mark Kelly would be just as dangerous as Vice President Kamala Harris.
Pete Buttigieg, another name being considered, has established himself as perhaps one of the most incompetent and far-left cabinet officials in American history. He botched the response the toxic train derailment that imperiled East Palestine, Ohio, as well as the airline cancellation chaos scandal of 2022. He has also faced criticism for spending a whopping two months on paternity leave as a supply chain crisis reared its head during the Christmas season, come under fire for calling roads “racist,” and, in a particularly tone-deaf and out-of-touch comment, stated that Americans concerned about high gas prices should simply buy an electric car.
Last but not least, Gretchen Whitmer has in recent years emerged as one of the most radical governors in the nation. Her draconian lockdowns during COVID caused Michigan to lose more jobs than any other state. Her administration has militantly supported Critical Race Theory and gender ideology and proposed nearly tripling the gas tax, while her anti-energy policies would decimate the Michigan auto industry. To top it all off, she has overseen an explosion of crime in her state.
Unfortunately for Democrats—and perhaps for the nation—additional but less probable individuals being considered, such as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, would be just as dangerously extremist.
As Democrat operatives speculate as to how Harris’s pick could consolidate support among moderates and Independents, members of her campaign should not hold their breath. In the end, any person that Harris might tap to be the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee will signal that she is doubling down on—rather than tiptoeing away from—her own well-established record of extremism.
Aaron Flanigan is the pen name of a writer in Washington, D.C.
