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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Vice President Kamala Harris has been fiercely defending President Joe Biden as he faces growing pressure to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance.
Harris is working to salvage Biden's reelection campaign after his faltering performance on June 27 magnified worries about his ability to beat Donald Trump in November and serve another four years.
Biden has repeatedly insisted that he will not step aside, but if he does, some Democrats view Harris as the logical successor to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket.
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Representative Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat who helped Biden secure the Democratic nomination in 2020, has said he would support Harris if Biden were to withdraw.
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Harris—the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president—is not much more popular than Biden in polling. So if she becomes the Democratic nominee, she would face the difficult challenge of choosing a running mate who would give her the best chance of beating Trump and becoming the nation's first woman president.
Here are some of the top names Harris could consider as a potential running mate.
Gavin Newsom
The California governor is among the prominent Democrats touted as a potential replacement at the top of Democratic should Biden leave the race.
Newsom has long worked to raise his national profile. As a white male, his presence on the Democratic ticket alongside Harris could broaden its appeal to some voters.
But Newsom's failure to tackle some problems in his state, including a rampant homelessness crisis, could cause problems. Six out of 10 Californians said the state was moving in the wrong direction in a survey conducted last month.
Gretchen Whitmer
Arguably the best known of the county's female governors, Michigan's Whitmer is a co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign. Her presence on the ticket could help win a much-needed battleground state.
Whitmer is both popular and successful. She cemented her status as a prominent figure in the Democratic Party after being reelected in 2022, when Democrats also flipped both chambers of Michigan's Legislature to win full control for the first time in four decades.
A Harris-Whitmer ticket could excite some voters and present a stark contrast to Trump, but it would likely raise concern about whether a two-woman ticket could succeed in defeating Trump.
Josh Shapiro
Choosing Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, as a running mate could help shore up support in another crucial swing state, but Shapiro arguably lacks the name recognition that other top Democrats have.
Shapiro has experience fending off MAGA candidates after beating Trump-backed Doug Mastriano in a landslide victory in 2022.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, could also attract voters at a time when Americans see antisemitism as a "very serious" national issue, according to a Gallup poll.
J.B. Pritzker
The Illinois governor, like Shapiro, is also Jewish and popular in his home state, but he is arguably not as well known on the national stage as other top Democrats.
But as Harris' running mate, the billionaire hotel heir could inject a significant amount of cash into the race, which could make a difference.
Jamie Dimon
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase would be somewhat of a wild card pick, but the billionaire's presence on the Democratic ticket could help win over Republican voters who don't want a second Trump term.
Dimon praised Trump's record earlier this year and warned Democrats that speaking negatively about Trump's supporters could harm Biden's campaign.
He has repeatedly denied he would run for president but said in an interview last year that he could see himself serving in someone else's administration.
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