Representative Jim Clyburn, the lawmaker credited with helping President Joe Biden win in 2020, has outlined three potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday, ending his re-election bid after a disastrous debate last month raised doubts about his fitness for office and ability to beat Donald Trump in November.
He quickly endorsed Harris to replace him as the Democratic Party‘s nominee and encouraged Democrats to unite behind her.
Harris quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations. Several governors who have been floated as potential running mates for Harris also issued statements endorsing her.
“I’ve been saying now for several weeks that if for any reason, President Biden were to decide not to run, I thought that Vice President Harris should be our choice and that’s who I would be supporting,” Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, told CNN‘s Anderson Cooper on Sunday night.
“I do believe that when the American people see her stacked up against Donald Trump and his 2025 project and what he has in store for the American people, she is going to win this race, and she is going to win it with massive support.”
Clyburn discussed three governors contending to be Harris’ running mate should she secure the Democratic nomination: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
“You’ve got a great crop of governors, and they’re awesome business people,” Clyburn said.
“She’ll go through her process. She’ll vet these candidates and she’ll make her decision, and I’m going to support her decision, whoever it might be.”
Josh Shapiro
Shapiro, considered a rising political star, is in his second year as Pennsylvania’s governor after easily trouncing Doug Mastriano, a far-right candidate endorsed by Trump, in 2022. He previously served as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Clyburn noted that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, an independent, suggested Shapiro should be considered to lead the Democratic ticket. “He likes the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro,” he said. “I like him too.”
Andy Beshear
Beshear is another governor who has been floated to replace Biden at the top of the ticket.
He has won hard-fought campaigns for governor of Kentucky in 2019 and 2023, defeating Trump-backed Republicans both times. An attorney by trade, he previously won election as state attorney general.
He has carved a successful career in the heavily Republican state with a GOP-controlled Legislature and presided over record-setting economic growth.
Clyburn said he wasn’t as familiar with Beshear as he was with his father, two-term Governor Steve Beshear.
“I’ve been around for a long time so I remember Beshear’s father and I know who he is,” he said. “I don’t know him very well.”
Roy Cooper
Cooper has won six statewide races over two decades in North Carolina, where Republicans routinely prevail and control the legislature.
He has strong approval ratings in the politically competitive state, thanks to a booming economy that his administration takes credit for.
Clyburn said having Cooper on the ticket could help Democrats win North Carolina in November. Trump won the state in both 2016 and 2020.
“North Carolina brings about 15 electoral votes,” Clyburn said. “It will be a very good contest for us if you had Roy Cooper on the tickets.”
