What polls say about Harris' potential running mates

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FILE-Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to choose her running mate soon, but a new poll finds that some of the candidates are unknown to the public.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted the poll after President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race and Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee and highlights the strengths and weaknesses that different politicians could bring to the ticket — and the challenges they may face if picked.

Harris has not decided on her VP pick, but the person she chooses will join her on a seven-state swing of key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina, next week.

Here’s what the polls say about Harris’ possible running mates.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is a Navy veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and has been an influential voice among Democrats on immigration and border security.

Kelly has more name recognition and higher favorability. Americans are more likely to have a positive view of Kelly than a negative view. According to the AP poll, roughly 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a very or somewhat favorable view of Kelly, while about 2 in 10 have a negative view. Additionally, half of Americans don’t know enough to have an opinion about Kelly.

Democrats also have a positive view of Kelly. Forty-five percent have a favorable view of Kelly, while about 1 in 10 have an unfavorable view of him, and roughly 4 in 10 don’t know enough about the senator.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Sharpiro is unknown to Americans and Democrats, except in the Northeast, where he has more name recognition and favorability. He was elected governor of the state in 2022.

In the Northeast, 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of him. Another 4 in 10, don’t know enough to have an opinion of Shapiro, while 2 in 10 Northeastern residents view him negatively.

According to the AP poll, 6 in 10 U.S. adults — including 57% of Democrats — don't know enough to have an opinion about Shapiro. And roughly 2 in 10 Americans view him favorably, and a similar share of respondents view him unfavorably.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

Andy Beshear is a longtime protégé of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Beshear defeated then-Gov. Matt Bevin, and won reelection in 2023 against Republican Daniel Cameron.

Beshear's victory last year was credited in part to his advocacy of abortion rights, including a campaign ad featuring a sexual assault survivor attacking Cameron for his political stances, the AP reported.

The poll shows that 7 in 10 Americans don’t know enough to have an opinion about him. People with a view are about evenly split: 17% of U.S. adults have a positive view, and 15% have a negative one.

However, Democrats have a more positive than negative opinion of Beshear. About one-quarter have a very or somewhat favorable view, while around 1 in 10 have a negative view. Nearly two-thirds don’t know enough about Beshear to give an opinion.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz currently leads the Democratic Governors Association and also served for 12 years in the House. The AP reported Walz moved up on Harris' shortlist in recent days after he coined "weird" as a new talking point to describe the Republican ticket. It's a line now used widely by the vice president and other Democrats.

Walz isn’t included in the AP-NORC poll, but a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, which asked about favorability slightly differently, found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults don’t know enough about Walz to have an opinion on him. Among Americans with a view, opinions are split between positive and negative for the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.

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