MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Vice President Kamala Harris is looking for a running mate, one with executive experience. She’s still vetting a list of candidates. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh reports that some congressional Democrats are pushing for their favorite picks.

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Virginia Senator Tim Kaine knows what it’s like to be vetted for vice president.

TIM KAINE: It’s an honor to do it. It’s very intense.

WALSH: He was tapped by Hillary Clinton to be her running mate in 2016. Some candidates going through the vetting process asked Kaine for advice. He says this process has a much more accelerated timeline.

KAINE: So it’s normally a two-month process, and they got to do it in two weeks.

WALSH: He said chemistry is more important than picking someone from a battleground state.

KAINE: You have to have someone that you trust will be brutally candid with you in a closed room, but then be completely publicly supportive and respectful outside the closed room.

WALSH: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is among those being considered by Harris. He’s been surrounded by reporters in the Capitol and repeats the same line when asked about a possible vice presidential slot.

MARK KELLY: Well, this is not, you know, about me. It’s about an election in about 100 days or so.

WALSH: But hopping on the subway at the Capitol, he also makes his pitch on the contrast.

KELLY: I’m going to work really hard to make sure Kamala Harris is the next president because we cannot go back to those days of Donald Trump – tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans, taking away rights for people, especially women.

WALSH: Kelly is being talked up in the hallways by fellow Democrats, like Vermont Senator Peter Welch, who also name-checked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former House member.

PETER WELCH: You know, I love Mark Kelly as a colleague. I love Tim Walz because he was my classmate in the House, and I saw how extraordinarily effective he is.

WALSH: Asked about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, another possible candidate, Welch pointed to his handling of a major interstate collapse.

WELCH: Hey, anybody who can fix a breach in 10 days, I’m impressed.

WALSH: Pennsylvania Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan also touted her governor.

CHRISSY HOULAHAN: I do think the vice president has an amazing wealth of choices. And, of course, I would be remiss to mention that Josh Shapiro is a really compelling candidate.

WALSH: Kentucky Democratic Congressman Morgan McGarvey says his governor, Andy Beshear, another person on the Harris list, deserves a look.

MORGAN MCGARVEY: And look at what he has done in leading us out of the pandemic, in creating record jobs, record economic development.

WALSH: Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver told NPR GOP efforts to paint the Democratic ticket as far left won’t work.

EMANUEL CLEAVER: She’s not going to go out and get, you know, a left wing nut bucket. I mean, she – that’s just not going to happen. And no matter how much they say that, it’s not going to happen.

WALSH: Welch says it all comes down to who can help Harris win enough electoral votes in November.

WELCH: Focus on winning – first, last and always.

WALSH: Harris is expected to announce her pick by August 7. Democrats on Capitol Hill are eager to make the contrast with the Trump/Vance GOP ticket. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, the Capitol.

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