Democrats have unified with remarkable speed behind Vice President Kamala Harris as she has taken over the top of the party含羞草研究社檚 ticket heading into the November presidential election.
It may be another story when it comes to a running mate.
As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly have emerged as among the potential finalists, both have face criticism from some organizations and activists who might otherwise be supportive of Democratic causes.
Harris含羞草研究社� team says she is interviewing six possible choices over the weekend before an announcement expected Monday. The next day, she and her running mate will appear together at a rally in Philadelphia, then visit six more swing states.
In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, Harris is said to be considering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Some congressional Democrats have promoted Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut whose state has more than 370 miles of border with Mexico. They say his selection could help defuse attacks by the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who argues that Biden administration含羞草研究社檚 immigration policies are too relaxed.
Shapiro has high-profile supporters, too, including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. She caused a stir by posting a video Friday depicting several Philadelphia-area officials and Democrats promoting Harris, but also playing up Shapiro as her running mate 含羞草研究社� appearing to suggest that the mayor had inside knowledge about Harris含羞草研究社� decision.
But a person with knowledge of the mayor含羞草研究社檚 thinking said the video was simply a case of Parker showing support for both Harris and the potential that Shapiro, Parker含羞草研究社檚 friend, would be the vice presidential pick. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Both Kelly and Shapiro have also seen their detractors become more vocal as Harris含羞草研究社� closes in on a decision.
While that may not ultimately sway Harris, it is an indication that the honeymoon period for the vice president, where the distinct wings of the Democratic Party coalesced behind her, may be ending in the less than two weeks since President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed her.
Some labor groups have criticized Kelly for opposing proposed legislation they argue would boost union organizing. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said that despite backing Harris for president, his 370,000-member union is not supporting Kelly as a potential running mate.
Fain also said the union does not favor Shapiro, who has previously proved willing to join with Republicans in calls to expand voucher programs that allow public tax dollars to flow to private schools.
Fain did single out Beshear, Walz and Pritzker for praise.
含羞草研究社淪he含羞草研究社檚 probably got a thousand people telling her the same thing, you know, of what they think,含羞草研究社� Fain said in an interview. 含羞草研究社淎nd so she含羞草研究社檚 got to make the decision based off of what she feels is, you know, is best for her.含羞草研究社�
The nonprofit Institute for Middle East Understanding said in a statement that Shapiro 含羞草研究社渋s not the right candidate for the job, and selecting him would be a step in the wrong direction.含羞草研究社�
Shapiro, who says he plans to be at Harris含羞草研究社� rally Tuesday in Philadelphia, has aggressively confronted what he views as antisemitism cropping up from pro-Palestinian demonstrations and he has professed solidarity with Israel in its drive to eliminate Hamas as it Israel battles the militants in Gaza.
Shapiro called out universities for not acting quickly to tackle antisemitism and he became a prominent critic of the University of Pennsylvania含羞草研究社檚 president, Liz Magill. She resigned after testifying at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school含羞草研究社檚 conduct policy.
Shapiro has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while suggesting that any end to the Israel-Hamas war requires the removal of Hamas from power.
The governor has been criticized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations for not condemning Israel for the killing of civilians in Gaza or for not calling for Israel to stop the fighting in the territory. Shapiro has countered that he has met with Muslim Americans and understands their pain.
The progressive activist organization RootsAction.org opposes Shapiro含羞草研究社檚 views on Israel, school vouchers and the environment, among other issues. It says that in considering Shapiro, Harris 含羞草研究社渉as set off alarm bells among young people, racial justice organizers, Arab Americans, Muslims and others whose votes and campaign activism were crucial to defeating Trump four years ago.含羞草研究社�
Meanwhile, The Philadelphia Inquirer resurfaced an opinion article Shapiro wrote in 1993 as a 20-year-old college student at the University of Rochester where he said peace 含羞草研究社渨ill never come含羞草研究社� to the Middle East and that Palestinians were 含羞草研究社渢oo battle-minded含羞草研究社� to coexist with Israel.
Asked about it, Shapiro responded, 含羞草研究社淚 was 20含羞草研究社� adding that he long has supported a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
含羞草研究社淚t is my hope that we can see a day where peace will reign in the Middle East,含羞草研究社� he said.
Also opposing Shapiro are some environmental leaders and residents of the rural town of Dimock, Pennsylvania. They have drafted a letter to Harris urging her not to choose Shapiro and charging that the governor failed to keep his promises to clean up area groundwater contaminated by natural gas production via hydraulic fracturing.
Associated Press writer Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
Will Weissert, The Associated Press
