The likely Democratic candidate for the White House, Kamala Harris, begins a crucial week today to choose a vice-presidential candidate, seeking to broaden her electoral base.
Traditionally, the process of choosing a vice-presidential candidate is a process that lasts several months, to allow for a careful examination of the candidate's past, political and professional career and bank accounts. However, after being called to replace President Joe Biden in the Democratic nomination just over a hundred days before the election - scheduled for November 5 - Harris will have to speed up this process.
According to several US media outlets, Kamala Harris will announce the name of her running mate by August 7, less than 20 days after launching her campaign.
There are many rumors about who Harris will choose as her running mate, but political observers seem to agree that it will probably be a white man, in an attempt to broaden the electoral base of the candidate who, if elected, will be the first black woman to become President of the United States. "One of the characteristics of vice presidential selection is often the search for a kind of balance," explained Joel Goldstein, professor of political science at the University of Saint-Louis.
For now, five names are still being floated in the media: four governors -- Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Roy Cooper (North Carolina), Andy Beshear (Kentucky), Tim Walz (Minnesota) -- and a former astronaut turned senator, Mark Kelly.
The selection process for this name is being scrutinized even more closely, since Donald Trump's chosen running mate is being heavily criticized.
The former Republican president announced in mid-July that he would choose J.D. Vance, a young senator with a rather atypical profile, to support him in his third campaign for the White House.
But the Ohio politician has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks, particularly due to the resurfacing of several videos that could potentially damage his candidacy with Donald Trump.
In one of them, the former best-selling author makes fun of women who choose to live without a partner or children, usually in the company of cats, in an episode that has been heavily criticized.
In other videos, J.D. Vance appears to criticize Donald Trump, the candidate to whom he now swears absolute loyalty.
For Joel Goldstein, the turmoil in which J.D. Vance is immersed illustrates how delicate the process of selecting a vice-presidential candidate is.
"The first questions to ask are above all: can he survive intense scrutiny? Is he a plausible president?", argued this expert.
In the United States, the role of vice-president is, in fact, primarily intended to replace the president in the event of his death or resignation.
In total, nine vice-presidents have become president under these conditions, the most recent being Lyndon Johnson, after the assassination of Kennedy, and Gerald Ford, after Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate scandal.
John Adams, the first vice president in the history of the United States, complained bitterly about his fate in a letter to his wife, Abigail, in 1793.
"My country, in her great wisdom, has designed for me the lowest position ever conceived by man," Adams wrote.
