I'd pick Kelly over Shapiro, though admittedly I'm way more familiar with Kelly than Shapiro. Having two former AGs on the ticket seems redundant. America loves astronauts and Kelly has personal experience with the issue of gun violence. Any sympathy Trump tries to get with his assassination attempt can be immediately countered. "Oh, your ear was grazed? My wife was literally shot in the head and had to relearn basic tasks. But do go on..."
I forgot about the Gabby Gifford angle, yea Mark Kelly would be a great choice.
Honestly, it does make me a bit uncontrollable to use her attempted assassination as a political tool, but in this context, I think she herself may well be okay with it.
I had no idea they were married.
I think you make a valid point about 2 AGs on one ticket. But it would pretty ludicrous for the Republicans to spin the "party of law and order" while running a convicted felon against two former attorneys general.
In general terms, I would prefer to have a Governor as the VP pick, rather than a Senator. We have such a thin "majority" in the Senate, jeopardizing it right now seems reckless.
AZ law states that the governor appoints a replacement senator, and there is a democratic governor right now
Yes but we don't know if the appointed replacement is as likely to win the next election as Kelly would be.
I'm from PA, and I've followed Shapiro's career for a bit. He's OK. A bit bland, maybe? Like I don't think he has the energy rally a following for a national campaign on his own. Almost like Klobuchar in that respect. Then again, PA is a fairly good cross section of the US population in terms of demographic disparity, so he's doing something right. He's also a bit more moderate than I would like, but he's not Trump or Vance, so I would absolutely vote for him.
Kelly I don't know anything about him other than his resume. I've never seen him speak, and I don't know where he stands on issues, but I would vote for him because he's not Trump or Vance.
I don't know much about Mark Kelly but if he's anything like his twin brother Scott he's likely highly empathetic and environmentally conscious at the very least. I've read Scott's book and from what I understand no one comes back from the ISS without an insane sense of the fragility of our planet and unity of humanity.
Lol I don't even know his name. Thanks! I'll check out his book.
Edit: I thought you were joking, but Mark is his name, and he does have a twin named Scott who is also an astronaut. Crazy!
His book is awesome of you're interested in space at all. It's called Endurance and is mostly about him being on the ISS continuously for a year to study the effects on the human body. Mark, as Scott's twin, was used as a control.
It'll be Shapiro. I want Kelly but locking up pa would be huge
Honestly, I live in PA, and I don't know that Shapiro locks up PA. He won by running against Trump in 2022, but Trump wasn't actually campaigning. And his challenger, Mastriano, won the primary because Shapiro ran ads saying Mastriano was Trump's guy.
There are plenty of Democrats in PA to win PA. But there are also enough Magats to make it close. Then there are the swing voters and single issue voters who want to hear his opinions on issues like fracking and Netanyahu. He might have to swallow some of his policy stances to fall in line, and a lot of people won't like that. Many of them are residents that voted for him, or stayed home because they didn't strongly support his opponent. If he flips because those issues poll differently on a national level, it will temper enthusiasm for the guy, and energize his opponents. That could keep the state in play.
And I'd love for Mark Kelly to be, you know, the actual president if something happens.
He opposes Medicare for all, does not support the green new deal, and he supported expanding oil drilling.
He's too moderate right for me. If this is what you people support, or you think this is the best tactic to beat trump, then fine. But there's a lot of support for this guy and I never see any actual substance as to why.
I think a moderate VP pick from a swing state covers some gaps for a Harris ticket. He could also bring more votes from servicemembers. I wouldn't necessarily say he would be the best president but he would be good for the campaign.
It's 100% about beating Trump in swing states. Whoever Harris can get more votes from in those states is who I'd want her to pick. I would love a more progressive pick personally, but that's not likely to win the swing states.
Right?! Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
I disagree with this, I think some of the swing States would benefit a lot from a more progressive pick. Especially Michigan
His face is very calming. He's like that guy whos always fun and a good time.
If she picks Shapiro, she’s bringing in this huge wedge issue of the Palestinian conflict that she just doesn’t need
When is his senate term up?
He is governor of Pennsylvania and is about a year and a half into his term
I don’t know what I was talking about. I must have been replying to the wrong comment. I was talking about Kelly in AZ. I knew Shapiro was governor of Pennsylvania… but good to know where he is in his term. Thanks for the reply.
Kelly's term is up in 2028. If he leaves the seat, a new Democratic senator would be picked in his place, and a special election would happen in 2026.
The Harris campaign has requested vetting materials from the following potential vice presidential nominee picks:
NC Gov. Roy Cooper
PA Gov. Josh Shapiro
AZ Sen. Mark Kelly
MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
MN Gov. Tim Walz
Whitmer has said she ain't leaving Michigan, but that pairing would be a game-changer.
I think you could consider that her first answer,not her final one.
She could do 4 terms, too.
Outside of Michigan. Decisions, decisions.
Out of this list Shapiro might be the strategic pick, but Walz is who I think I'd most like to see as VP.
I'd be sad to lose him here, but happy that the rest of the country gets to have him as well.
Hadn't seen Walz floated yet, he would be a superb VP. He was a teacher before he went into politics and is a very effective communicator.
AOC would be nice.
Agreed, but it’s not gonna happen. Too far left, two demonized by the right and I don’t think they want two women on the ticket. It’s 2024 and sad to say it will still be hard enough to overcome sexism for many voters just for Harris.
*sexism & racism... sadly
Ok between those two, I “like” Kelly the most but Shapiro is the better choice. Don’t give up the senate seat.
I thought the same, but AZ law says that if a Senate seat is vacated, the Governor, currently Dem, will appoint a replacement to fullfil the rest of the term. So, good news, the seat will not be up for grabs.
Not so good news, the appointed will have incumbency advantage and more than likely never be seriously primaried.
Oh, well thank you for that info. I wasn’t aware of that AZ law, but ya… incumbency counts.
So, if Harris and Kelly were to be on the Democratic ticket and win, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) would need to appoint someone to take Kelly’s seat. Like what happened in 2020, that scenario would trigger a special for the next cycle — 2026. Then, in 2028, the seat Kelly won in 2022 will be up for a full, six-year term.
Plus, Pennsylvania is a nice big purple state to get a little home-state bias from.
Don’t give up the senate seat.
I assume Kelly’s replacement would be appointed by the governor of Arizona, who happens to be a Democrat.
At first I thought it said Ben Shapiro and I was like WTF!
Bruh, for real... Everytime I see it I have a moment of 'fucking what' and then an immediate '...that's right...'
Pete Buttigieg would be great for many reasons, including the #HarriButt2024 T-shirts
Why does everyone seemingly like Kelly? His voting record is on the right of most other dems, is it just astronaut and good husband optics doing the heavy lifting ?
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