Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro is perhaps the top contender to be Kamala Harris’s running mate. But Shapiro would be an awful selection, with a history of alienating and antagonizing core party constituencies and caving to pressure on major issues.
  • pyre@lemmy.world
    102·
    3 months ago

    we had this discussion when people said Biden dropping out would mean certain defeat. people are severely underestimating the danger of depressing voter turnout countrywide. this is not much of an issue for the GOP but for Dems it’s their main antagonist.

    i think they’re going to take PA anyway. it’s not worth risking losing on other states showing that there’s nothing new and everything is actually the same as the democrats you always hated for never listening. Biden dropping out was the first time this image has cracked, mending it right back would be a liability; falling into the Hillary trap there imo.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
      42·
      3 months ago

      To be honest, this is why they leak the names early in every campaign. They’re running internal polling on them, doing focus groups, and waiting to see if any skeletons toss open a closet door. If there was a red flag in that polling they’d pull him out of consideration.

      There’s also the art of political theater to consider. Say they did flag Shapiro for exactly the thing you’re worried about. They might bring him along to stuff like the meet and greet just to make people in Pennsylvania feel more included.

      All this is to say they have a ton more data on this than we do. What little we have shows Kelly and Shapiro as the most well known and liked of the names that were put forward. I have a bit more faith that they’re getting good data since they flushed the Biden group out of the campaign. And her campaign is noticeably better run.

      • pyre@lemmy.world
        4·
        3 months ago

        i hope so. for me as always it shouldn’t matter who it is. you’re literally voting against a fascist who proudly announced he wanted to be a dictator, and whose entourage has publicly announced a step by step plan to completely dismantle what little is left of American democracy. the VP could literally be a trashcan and i wouldn’t think republicans should be elected.