Kamala Harris Turns to Selecting a Possible Vice President

After weeks of speculation, Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed by President Biden to succeed him as the Democratic presidential candidate this fall, will have a bench of new-generation party leaders to turn to when she moves toward the first critical decision of her candidacy: picking a running mate.

By now, the list of possibilities is fairly well known: Democrats who had already seemed like potential presidential contenders in 2028 or as potential candidates themselves this year.

It is too soon to know if Ms. Harris will go unchallenged for her party’s nomination. But either way, she needs to begin to consider who would be her running mate in a race against the Republican ticket, Donald J. Trump and JD Vance. In a month, Democrats will convene in Chicago for their nominating convention.

Ms. Harris, 59, could be inclined to turn to someone from a swing state that the party needs to win. She is also likely to turn to a male running mate, Democrats said, to give the ticket balance; again, though, nothing is certain since the bench includes several women.

Here’s a look at the names of Democrats on Ms. Harris’s desk now.

Josh Shapiro: Mr. Shapiro, 51, was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022 after serving as the state’s attorney general from 2017 until he moved into the governor’s office. Pennsylvania is a must-win state for Democrats, and Mr. Shapiro’s stock among Democrats rose after he swamped his Republican opponent in 2022, Doug Mastriano, winning 56 percent of the vote.

As demonstrations against Israel spread across campuses this fall, Mr. Shapiro — who would be the second Jewish running mate on a major-party ticket in history if he were picked — stepped out to denounce the rise in antisemitism after the attack by