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Whoever Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris gambles on as her running mate, the traditional way of doing things is to move on from the impressive gallery of others she considered and campaign as a duo. I have a radical suggestion: Run as a team instead.
Most of those who had been considered and discussed are popular and successful governors and senators in swing states—which makes sense, because in America's unique and problematic system only those states make a difference and appealing to other audiences is close to pointless. The problem is that Harris needs all the swing states, or most of them, and is running behind.
So, imagine if alongside the pick for veep, Harris also unveiled a comprehensive future Cabinet that included both the veep and many of the contenders, as well as others. Imagine campaign posters all over the country that show not just the ticket, but a whole team that includes:
- Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, has earned national recognition for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and strong advocacy for women's rights and economic development. She pulled out of the veepstakes but Michigan remains in danger for the Dems largely because of anger by the large Muslim community over Biden's support for Israel in the Gaza war. Harris should keep her prominent.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a pragmatic leader known for his efforts to protect voting rights and combat corruption and his state is similarly in danger but from the opposite direction: Anger by Jews and centrists over perceived antisemitism in the woke left of the Democratic party. Shapiro, who is Jewish, could be a useful answer.
- Mark Kelly, the astronaut-turned-senator from Arizona, represents a blend of service and entrepreneurship and has a compelling personal story as the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt and has become a strong advocate for gun control.
- Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, is a seasoned leader with a strong track record in education and health care reform; former President Donald Trump won the state by 1 percent in 2020 and Cooper—who pulled out of VP contention—could help flip it.
- Tim Walz, Midwestern everyman, friend of labor and coiner of the classic and uber-accurate term "weird" to describe Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
- Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia brings a powerful voice on issues of racial justice and economic inequality that would resonate deeply with African American voters and progressive constituencies who put Biden over the top in his state of Georgia in 2020.
- Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, is a semi-progressive powerhouse with a focus on climate change, health care, and social justice. He's a tricky one: California has become a lightning rod for wokeness gone berserk and some of that attaches to Newsom; but he's tall with good hair (and seems knowledgeable and articulate).
The key is that Harris should seek to avoid a situation where she has picked one Democrat and has forgotten about all the others who can help her—both nationally and in their states. She needs to keep all of them in play somehow. And one way to do it is to present them all as a team, perhaps bolstered with prominent figures from the business world, military and academic and research communities, which could present a wide range of policy expertise, regional representation, and personal backgrounds.
This might galvanize support across the nation, offer a clearer vision of her potential presidency, and reassure voters who have doubts about her personally.
It would also, obviously, set her apart from her opponent, a megalomaniac and aspiring dictator. (By the way, in choosing as his running mate on the Republican side, Trump didn't follow swing-state logic, rather hoping to further rile up a fervid MAGA base.
The team concept would borrow from the British tradition of a "shadow government." For example, long before Labour's victory last month, it was known who a Prime Minister Keir Starmer would appoint to various posts in his cabinet. Thus was the election rendered not all about the somewhat wooden Starmer.
On both practical and messaging levels, the benefits are obvious: Voters would see not just a candidate, but a ready-made administration poised to tackle the nation's challenges from day one; key battleground states would be engaged; synergy would be maximized between Harris's campaign and down-ballot races; and, critically, in an era of political polarization and misinformation, presenting a team provides a positive narrative, counters negativity with a focus on competence and collaboration.
President Abraham Lincoln's famous "team of rivals" strategy during his presidency serves as a powerful precedent. Lincoln brought together a group of strong, often opposing figures into his administration. This approach fostered debate, surprisingly effective governance, and projected the message that not everything was about Lincoln.
If more than 160 years of precedence isn't enough for you, it's possible to look back hundreds and thousands more.
"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him," advised Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince. In his Politics, Aristotle emphasized the role of collective wisdom in governance: "For each individual among the many has a share of virtue and prudence, and when they meet together, they become in a manner one man."
There is no precedent, I admit, to building a campaign this way. The focus in U.S. politics has tended to be squarely on the top of the ticket—a reflection of the imperial nature of the presidency.
But Trump himself might show us the way—if unintentionally. His chaotic rise clearly demonstrates that things don't need to be done as they've always been done before.
Dan Perry is the former Cairo-based Middle East editor and London-based Europe/Africa editor of the Associated Press. Follow him at danperry.substack.com.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
