Kamala Harris vice president contender gets campaign job

One of the contenders for Vice President Kamala Harris‘ VP pick announced a new campaign job just a day after President Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic nominee.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a Monday video that she was moving over to Harris’ presidential campaign as a co-chair. She was named as a co-chair to Biden’s 2024 campaign earlier this year.

“Today, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Whitmer said in a video share to X, formerly Twitter.

“Vice President Harris has my full support and I am proud to be co-chair of her campaign,” the governor said. “So Michigan, let’s get to work. We cannot let Donald Trump anywhere near the White House.”

Whitmer had been floated as a possible running mate for Harris. A Harris-Whitmer ticket would have marked the first all-women ticket in history, but the governor confirmed to local outlets outside the state capitol Monday that she would not appear on the ballot in November.

“I am not leaving Michigan,” Whitmer said. “I’m proud to be the governor of Michigan. I’ve been consistent. I know everyone is always suspicious and asking this question over and over again. I know you’re doing your job. I’m not going anywhere.”

Biden announced Sunday afternoon that he would withdraw from the presidential race and endorse Harris as the nominee. The vice president raised more than $50 million in less than 24 hours of launching her campaign.

Many anticipate that she will select a Democratic governor from a swing state to appear on the ticket with her. Others floated as possible VP picks include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.

Although Beshear would not put Kentucky into play for the Democrats, he’s impressed many in the party, having won a second term in a red state. A Morning Consult poll conducted last year found him to be tied with Hawaii Governor Josh Green as the most popular Democratic governor among Trump voters. He was also the most popular Democratic governor among Biden voters and had the highest net approval rating of any Democratic governor in a red state.

Beshear addressed the VP rumors on Monday’s broadcast of “Morning Joe,” calling the speculation “flattering” while directly criticizing former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance. Vance rose to national prominence for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which detailed his eastern Kentucky family.

“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like because let me just tell you that JD Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said. “The nerve that he has to call the people of Kentucky, of eastern Kentucky, lazy.”

“Listen, these are the hardworking coal miners that powered the industrial revolution, that created the strongest middle class the world has ever seen, powered us through two world wars,” he said. “We should be thanking them not calling them lazy.”