The political landscape surrounding the 2024 presidential election is in upheaval since President Joe Biden dropped his campaign for the Democrat nomination.
It became even more tumultuous when Vice President Kamala Harris was selected by the party as Biden’s replacement.
Now the question of who will step into the number two position remains unanswered.
However, many more experienced Democrats are now panicking about who the already unpopular Harris might pick, as The Washington Examiner reported.
As rumors circulate that the senator from a swing state, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), could secure the highly sought-after position of Kamala Harris’s running mate, several Democrats are cautioning that he may not be the best choice.
John LaBombard, a political insider from Washington, D.C., who has worked as a senior advisor for Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and former Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), is warning that Kelly will not help the presidential ticket.
“My guess is that Sen. Kelly would have some growth to do in that part of the role, at least as compared to Gov. Walz,” the Democrat strategist said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is also rumored to be on the vice presidential shortlist.
“The vice presidential candidate really ideally would be somebody who would be comfortable being an attack dog on the other ticket but doing it in a way that’s not off-putting to winnable voters,” LaBombard added.
According to Steve Jarding, a former counsel to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and another Democrat strategist, Kelly did not conform to the conventional “attack dog” profile for candidates running for vice president.
Jarding, on the other hand, thinks that might work in favor of people who are turned off by “pit bull” politics.
This week, the senator from a battleground state stepped up his attacks on the Trump-Vance ticket.
The attack suggests Kelly is seemingly eager to portray himself as the “pit bull” that campaign strategists aspire for.
It comes amid growing speculation that Kelly leads the probable Democrat nominee’s vice presidential shortlist.
Kelly avoided questions regarding the running mate selection while swiftly criticizing the GOP immigration reform ticket on Wednesday’s MSNBC “Morning Joe.”
“We can’t have four more years of Donald Trump, especially with J.D. Vance one heartbeat away from the presidency,” the Democrat senator said.
In other comments from this week, Kelly told reporters that Trump had made the world “a more dangerous place.”
Kelly may already have a significant backer, however.
During an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday, Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ), a personal friend of Harris and former 2020 presidential candidate, lauded Kelly.
Booker described Kelly as “out of the world.”
According to Booker, he personally urged Harris to run for the U.S. Senate in 2016.
Booker looked to favor “one of the greatest champions and heroes in the country” in his enthusiastic approval for Kelly.
