Possible vice presidential picks endorse Kamala Harris

July 21 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris has a major task in her quest to become the next president of the United States. Make that a No. 2 task: her selection of a running mate.

Possible vice president nominees are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Ray Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. None of them have yet said they want the job.

"The best path forward for the Democratic Party is to quickly unite behind Vice President Harris and refocus on winning the presidency," Shapiro said in a statement on X. "The contrast in this race could not be clearer and the road to victory in November runs right through Pennsylvania -- where this collective work began. I will do everything I can to help elect Kamala Harris as the 47th President of the United States."

Cooper posted on X that "Kamala Harris should be the next President."

"I've known @VP going back to our days as AGs, and she has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country thoughtfully and with integrity," Cooper said. "I look forward to campaigning for her as we work to win NC up and down the ticket."

Kelly, a former astronaut, strongly endorsed Harris.

"I couldn't be more confident that Vice President @KamalaHarris is the right person to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country into the future," Kelly wrote in a post on X. "She has my support for the nomination, and Gabby [Giffords, his wife] and I will do everything we can to elect her President of the United States."

However, Beshear didn't endorse Harris yet.

"Now is time for our nation to come together," Beshear posted on X. "We need to dial down the anger, rancor and noise. We have an opportunity to treat our neighbors as ourselves -- and that we are all each other's neighbors."

Prominent Democrat governors also include Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.

Newsom backed Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, in a post on X: "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."

Whitmer was noncommittal on X: "My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families' costs, banning abortion nationwide and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan."

Pritzker, governor of the Democratic National Convention's host state of Illinois, also didn't mention Harris in his statement. He wrote on X: "As we extend our gratitude to President Biden and reflect on his many accomplishments, we must not ignore the threat posed by Donald Trump's potential return to the White House. ... I will work every day to ensure that he does not win in November."