Luke Sharrett and Sean Rayford/Getty Images
- Kamala Harris is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee for president.
- There are several Harris VP contenders, and at least one of them is already making moves.
- Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky went on "Morning Joe" and started attacking Sen. JD Vance.
Following President Joe Biden's sudden decision to drop out of the race on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris appears likely to coast toward the Democratic nomination next month.
That means the race to be her running mate is already taking center stage among Democrats.
Several names are floating around, and some speculate that the vice president will want to elevate one of the party's many governors as she takes on former President Donald Trump this fall. A few of the top names so far are Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.
Beshear — first elected governor in his deep-red state in 2019 — appears to be the first one making big, public moves.
In an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, the governor endorsed Harris, calling her "smart and strong."
Beshear then immediately pivoted to attacking Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, seizing on comments he made during his 2022 Senate run about abortion and abusive marriages.
The governor was asked whether he would serve as Harris' running mate. "Well, I think if somebody calls you on that, you at least listen," Beshear said. Then he shifted back to Vance.
"I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like," Beshear said. "Because let me just tell you that JD Vance ain't from here."
Vance's family is from Kentucky, and he spent significant time in the rural eastern part of the state as a kid, as he details in "Hillbilly Elegy."
But the senator grew up primarily in Middletown, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati that's about 150 miles north of his family's roots in Kentucky.
"I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen. And I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like. Because let me just tell you that JD Vance ain't from here."
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 22, 2024
— @GovAndyBeshear on the possibility of running for VP pic.twitter.com/M6MskbCixq
Cooper, another running-mate contender, also appeared Monday on "Morning Joe" and endorsed Harris.
As of Monday, no significant challenge to a Harris nomination had emerged.
Rumored rivals for the nomination — and other prospective running mates — have quickly fallen behind Harris, including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Gavin Newsom of California, as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Harris has locked up endorsements from many other Democratic lawmakers, and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, after briefly flirting with the idea of running against her, said on Monday that he wouldn't do so after all.