After Democrats reportedly told President Joe Biden to step out of the race, now they might be signaling to Vice President Kamala Harris that Sen. Mark Kelly, R-Ariz., is their running mate of choice because he could help the campaign on the troubling border issue.
"He would add a lot of value," Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, told Politico.
Kelly is a former NASA astronaut, Navy pilot, and the husband of gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords, who survived an attempted assassination.
The border, military service, and the assassination attempt on the life of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were are top-line issues Saturday at the St. Cloud, Minnesota, campaign rally.
Harris is being hit politically for her role as President Joe Biden's border czar, and Kelly is a border Democrat who has pushed the administration on the issue.
Kelly "knows the border well," Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told Politico.
Kelly and fellow swing state Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are the two front-runners to be Harris' running mate, according to 30 Democrat lawmakers and senior aides to Politico.
"Wow, man, this guy knows what he's talking about," Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said of Kelly, who joined him on a Mexico City trip to talk border security with the border country's president.
If Kelly is pulled out of his Senate seat, Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs would be granted the authority to pick his successor, which is a "concern," but not the priority, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told Politico.
"I think all of us understand that first, last and always — what's going to help us win the presidency?" he said. "That's what we have to do.
"And that's more important than any Senate or House seat."
Among other names bandied about are Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, North Carolina Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper, and Kentucky Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear.
Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt declined to address the vice presidential vetting process or progress, according to the report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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