The California governor’s sudden discovery of law and order escalated running mate chatter and reintroduced a constitutional quandary.
Since President Joe Biden was shelved with Vice President Kamala Harris supplanting him as the presumptive Democratic nominee, the question of her potential running mate has raised considerable speculation. Long-rumored to be running his own “shadow campaign” for the White House, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s purported fealty to the administration has kept his name in the shortlist mix despite a 12th Amendment issue looming large.
As had been the case with former President Donald Trump potentially selecting Florida Rep. Byron Donalds or Sen. Marco Rubio prior to his announcement of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the matter of a single-state ticket doesn’t present as unconstitutional so much as it is problematic where 54 electoral votes are on the line.
The 12th Amendment begins, “The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves…”
In other words, a hypothetical Harris-Newsom ticket and victory on Nov. 5 where they had won California would show them with enough electoral votes, but the electors would seemingly be forced to choose between voting for Harris or Newsom as things currently stood.
Numerous outlets raised the point that this scenario would not be the first time since ratification that the 12th Amendment became a ballot issue as in 2000 when then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush had selected then-former Secretary of Defense and fellow Lone Star State resident Dick Cheney as his running mate.
The Sacramento Bee specified, “Cheney moved back to Wyoming that summer, where he had previously lived and represented in Congress, and updated his driver license and voter registration.”
“That’s probably unlikely for a sitting governor like Gavin Newsom,” said Notre Dame professor Derek Muller to the outlet, “but it’s possible that Vice President Harris could reestablish her residency in the District of Columbia.”
Meanwhile, as party leaders including the Clintons and Obamas had thrown their weight behind Harris, together the California politicians were ranked the least electable of ten Democrats considered by contributors to The New York Times, with the vice president ranking dead last with a score of 4.6 out of 10.
Kamala ranks dead last in NYT’s Biden replacement list. Here are the brutal reasons why… https://t.co/f3vOVjiMmN
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) July 23, 2024
For his part, Newsom was said to be uninterested in seeking higher office at present and an adviser had told Politico, “No. From his perspective, he has the best job in the world. He looks forward to supporting VP Harris and whomever she picks as her running mate.”
The governor had been quick to get behind Harris and posted commending, “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious. With our democracy at stake and out future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris.”
Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.
With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 21, 2024
Still, recent developments in favor of police pursuits of criminals and an executive order allowing for the clearing of homeless encampments that followed a Supreme Court decision hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Even Trump brought up the matter when he reacted, “Why didn’t Gavin Newscum do this a long time ago? He’s only doing it because, just like Crooked Joe Biden, his Radical Left Democrat Presidential Candidate, Lyin’ Kamala Harris, is losing BIG in the Polls. They just did it for Political Reasons, because she comes from California, and looks terrible. Right after the Election, it will go back to SLUM LIKE condition, unless we WIN — THEN, AMERICA WILL BE GREAT AGAIN!”
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, decried any suggestions about the presumptive nominee’s possible running mates and told Fox News Digital, “Any reporting on developments or updates in Vice President Harris’ running mate search are premature and speculative. Vice President Harris is considering a large pool of qualified candidates, and will choose a partner that shares her commitment to fighting for the middle class, protecting Americans’ freedoms, and protecting our democracy. And when that candidate is chosen, together, they will handedly defeat the Trump-Vance ticket in November.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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