(The Hill) — Former Vice President Harris said in her upcoming book that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” for a running mate in the 2024 presidential election, The Atlantic reported Wednesday.
Harris states in “107 Days” that Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man,” according to an excerpt shared with The Atlantic.
“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” the former vice president continued. “Part of me wanted to say, ‘Screw it, let’s just do it.’ But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”
“And I think Pete also knew that — to our mutual sadness,” she added.
The former Transportation secretary was on the shortlist for Harris’ running mate last year, after former President Biden dropped out of the race. Other potential candidates included Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Harris ultimately went with Walz.
Both Harris and Buttigieg have also been on the radar for 2028.
Last week, The Atlantic published a separate excerpt from “107 Days” in which Harris suggested that Biden’s choice to run for reelection in 2024 amounted to “recklessness.”
“And of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out,” Harris said in the excerpt. “I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run.”
“He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don’t let the other guy win,” she added.
She has also accused Biden staffers of “adding fuel” to negative stories about her during her time as vice president.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., seemingly agreed. He told NBC’s Meet the Press earlier this month that Biden “should not have run” for reelection.
Harris’s book, a memoir about her short-lived presidential campaign after losing to President Trump, is set to go on sale Sept. 23, and Harris will start a 15-city book tour, including international stops, on Sept. 24.
