Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first visit to the Peach State as the presumptive nominee for president of the Democratic Party on Tuesday.
Before Harris’ arrival, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear visited Georgia over the weekend to campaign for her in the Republican stronghold of Forsyth County.
Beshear is a rising star among national Democrats and a potential running mate for Harris. If chosen, he would bring a unique take to the ticket as a blue governor in a deeply red state.
Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a veteran Democrat, weighed in on the importance of the vice presidential pick.
“I think this is one of the few places that vice presidents matter, and the reason is the way she became the nominee,” Barnes said of Harris’ quick ascension to the top of the ticket following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.
Barnes added that although he likes Beshear, the son of former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, he’d like to see other candidates on the ticket with Harris.
“As they say in the South, I knew his daddy when his daddy was governor and I liked Andy,” Barnes said.
But the former Georgia governor doubted Beshear, and his family’s name recognition, could win over voters in conservative Kentucky in a presidential race. In 2020, Biden only captured two of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
“I think it should be one of two people,” Barnes said. “Gov. Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has more electoral votes than North Carolina. Or Sen. Mark Kelly (because) Arizona is a swing state.”
Rick Dent agrees with Barnes on the importance of Harris choosing a running mate from a strategic state.
“I don’t think (Harris) needs help in the Sun Belt. She needs help in the blue wall,” Dent said, referring to Democrats’ strategy for November to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“The center of that blue wall is Pennsylvania,” Dent said. “I don’t think there’s any choice. In my opinion, you have got to put the governor of Pennsylvania on your ticket.”
Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal reporter Rebecca Grapevine offers a different take. She says that her home state governor, Beshear, is beloved in the Bluegrass State.
“During his first term as governor, he navigated the state through three crises: first COVID, then devastating tornadoes in Western Kentucky and then devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky,” Grapevine said. “That’s really endeared him to a lot of people.”
She also said Beshear can go head to head with former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
The window for Harris to choose her running mate is closing. She is expected to choose a running mate early next month in order to align with the party’s plan to virtually nominate a ticket by that date.
Emory University professor Andra Gillespie adds that even with the clock running out, the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy means her choice for vice president leaves “very little room for error” and cannot be rushed.
“For people who might be alarmed by the change of having a woman of color run for president, there’s going to be more risk aversion,” Gillespie said.
Tuesday on “Politically Georgia”: U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, joins the show.
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