WASHINGTON – As the campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris draws to a close, the campaign has met with six potential candidates, two sources familiar with the campaign said.
The six candidates are Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
All are the same age as Harris, 59 or younger, and most have already been running for vice president on the campaign trail or in media appearances since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Shapiro met with Harris’ vetting team on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the meeting. The source said that the vice president was not there.
His press secretary, Manuel Bonder, confirmed that Shapiro canceled this weekend’s fundraisers for the PAC in the Hamptons. “His schedule has changed and he’s no longer going to the Hamptons this weekend,” Bonder said.
Kelly met with Harris’ vetting team Tuesday afternoon, two sources familiar with the matter said. Kelly did not cast at least two votes on the Senate floor between noon and 6 p.m. Wednesday, a source said. His assistant said he was “off campus.”
Pennsylvania and Arizona are considered critical battleground states to win in the Electoral College.
NBC News previously reported a list of candidates who received screening materials, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmerhowever, he later announced that he wanted to finish his term as governor rather than become Harris’ vice president. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper also removed his name from consideration.
Harris told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he has not yet chosen his running mate, but a decision is expected to be made next Tuesday when Harris makes his first public appearance on his battleground state tour, which begins in Philadelphia. A familiar source told NBC News about it.
A source familiar with the process cautioned against reading too much into the space, saying Philly was chosen in a vacuum over Shapiro.
Next week’s tour also includes visits to western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, North Carolina; Phoenix; Las Vegas; and Savannah, Georgia.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee’s virtual challenge for Harris’ presidential nomination began Thursday and is expected to end Monday. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said Tuesday only Harris won the right to vote and 3,923 delegates petitioned to put him on the ballot for his nomination. The DNC said Harris won the support of 99% of delegates present.
Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Barack Obama Leads the vetting process for Harris As part of his role as general counsel at Covington & Burling LLP.
Gabe Gutierrez, Alex Seitz-Wald and Allan Smith contributed.