Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are the most popular picks for Kamala Harris' running mate among Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents, but many other potential names are poorly known.
A July 29 - 31 YouGov survey asked whether Democratic-leaning Americans would approve or disapprove of a range of potential nominees (some of whom have withdrawn from consideration). More Democratic-leaning U.S. adults would strongly or somewhat approve of each potential running mate than would strongly or somewhat disapprove.
More than half of Democrats and Independents who lean Democratic aren't sure whether or not they'd approve of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (59% not sure) and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (51%), two of the reported finalists. A third finalist, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, has 45% unsure.
One very popular sentiment among Democratic-leaning Americans is they don't want Harris' running mate to be old. YouGov asked about 16 different qualities and whether they're considered good things or bad things in Harris' running mate. 53% say a vice presidential candidate being old would be a bad thing, while just 6% say this would be a good thing. Meanwhile 55% say the running mate being young would be a good thing, while just 2% say it would be bad.
The most popular quality of the 16 is being a good public speaker; 84% of Democrats and Independents who lean Democratic said this would be a good thing. Loyalty to Harris and being from a swing state are also popular qualities.
More Democratic-leaning Americans say Harris' running mate being a man would be a good thing (38%) than say her running mate being a woman (26%) would be. Governors (40% good) are more popular than senators (32%).
Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents, 25% say a pro-Palestine vice presidential candidate would be good, while 11% say it would be bad. 13% say a pro-Israel running mate would be good, and 28% say being pro-Israel would be bad.
In June, before Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, YouGov asked Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents about a similar list of vice presidential qualities. Like Democrats, most Republicans ranked being a good public speaker as a good thing (83%).
Republicans were more likely to say being loyal to Trump was a good thing (70%) than Democrats are to say being loyal to Harris is (56%). Republicans were also more likely to endorse a conservative nominee (75%) than Democrats are to endorse a liberal nominee (46%).
Democrats are more likely than Republicans were to say being from a swing state, being young, and being moderate are good traits in a vice presidential candidate.
Most Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say Harris' running mate won't affect their vote (66%) or that it could only make them more likely to support Harris (18%). 2% say Harris' running mate could only make them less likely to vote for Harris, and 6% say it could make them more or less likely to vote for her, depending on the choice.
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This poll was conducted online on July 29 - 31, 2024 among 1,127 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
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