Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” for a running mate in 2024, but the prospect of a Black woman running alongside a gay man was “too big of a risk,” according to an excerpt from her new book.
In an excerpt of her soon-to-be-released book 107 Days, published Wednesday in The Atlantic, Harris wrote that the former U.S. Transportation Secretary, who resides in Traverse City with his family, “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.”
“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” Harris wrote. “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.”
Harris instead chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a more conventional coice. The ticket lost the 2024 election to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Trump’s victory marked the first time a Republican won the popular vote since George W. Bush beat John Kerry in 2004.
The title of Harris’ book refers to the length of her condensed presidential campaign. She took up the Democratic ticket in July 2024 after then-President Joe Biden dropped out following a disastrous first debate against Trump, the Associated Press reported.
Buttigieg, who resides in Traverse City with his husband and two children, is the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who served as a Navy Reserve officer. He rose to prominence on the national stage during his presidential bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Despite initial success, in which he finished first in the Iowa caucuses, he ended up dropping out and endorsing Biden for the Democratic ticket. He is widely considered a potential 2028 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Harris writes about her love of working with Buttigieg and her friendship with him and husband, Chasten, in the book excerpt.
Buttigieg moved to Traverse City in July 2022, during his time as Biden’s secretary of transportation.
Harris, a former U.S. senator from California, also threw her hat in the ring for the 2020 primary, but dropped out in December 2019 due to lack of funding, according to the AP.
Harris’ book, 107 Days, is set to hit store shelves on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
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