By Jose Bayani Baylon

‘… depending on who Harris chooses to be her running mate, is America ready for potentially a vice president who could be gay or Jewish?’

LAST July 22, with the news still fresh that US President Joe Biden has decided not to seek re-election and to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead, I made a Facebook post that surprised some friends.

Kamala Harris, I said, should pick Josh Shapiro to be her running mate.

That was July 22, a little over two weeks ago.

Tomorrow, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party who will become the first woman and the first of Indian and African-American descent to become a major party nominee for US president will finally announce her choice. According to news reports, her “selection committee” has pared down the choices to five, all white men: Mark Kelley, senator from Arizona; JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois; Pete Buttigieg, secretary of transportation in the Biden cabinet; Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, and Josh Shapiro himself, governor of Pennsylvania.

Except for Buttigieg, the four other gentlemen come from US states that are critical to Harris’ path to victory, which means winning 270 electoral votes. Pritzker, who by the way is a billionaire, comes from a state that is most solidly blue (Democrat) among the others.

If electoral vote counting would be a major factor in the Harris decision, then this drops the governor down a notch or two.

Buttigieg used to be the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and his addition to the ticket may not have a direct impact on the electoral map for Harris because Indiana is considered a strong red (Republican) state. This drops Mayor Pete a notch or two.

The same cannot be said of Kelley and governors Walz and Shapiro. They represent states that went for Biden in 2020 and need to go blue again in 2024 to solidify a Democratic victory. Arizona has 10 electoral college votes, as does Minnesota, but Pennsylvania carries 19. This raises Shapiro up a notch or two.

Walz and Kelly are veterans of the Armed Forces, which can be a plus for a small segment of voters. Butigieg is proud and out, which is a plus for the liberals but a negative for conservatives. Shapiro, on the other hand is Jewish, which can work to counterbalance the view that Harris is tough on Israel. But the segment of the US population that looks naively on Israel may not be too happy.

So the question is: Is America ready? First, not only for a woman president, but for one of color?

And then second, depending on who Harris chooses to be her running mate, is America ready for potentially a vice president who could be gay or Jewish?

I’m excited to find out!