Though United States Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to officially win the Democratic nomination for president in 2024, many experts suggest she has an excellent chance to be the party’s candidate, facing off against Republican Donald Trump in November.
At the time of publication, it was unclear whether the Democratic National Convention (DNC) would hold an open primary — allowing any candidate to potentially win the delegates for the top of the ticket — or conduct a “virtual roll call” to decide on a nominee before a critical state deadline. The DNC is scheduled to begin on Aug. 19 in Chicago. However, Ohio’s election laws require parties to certify their presidential tickets by Aug. 7, suggesting that Democrats may take steps to ensure Harris is nominated outside of an open convention.
With the endorsement of US President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Nancy Pelosi and many Democratic leaders, Harris may become the party’s candidate in 2024. Until the nomination is official, certain Democrats have a chance of being at the top of the ticket or potentially vice presidential candidates under Harris.
Pete Buttigieg
The Secretary of Transportation under President Biden, Pete Buttigieg has had little involvement with financial policy since 2021 or made public statements on crypto while the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg said Bitcoin (BTC) should be “treated as a commodity,” suggesting that the US Securities and Exchange Commission did not have the authority to bring enforcement actions involving the cryptocurrency.
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is another potential presidential or vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket with some crypto policy experience. In February 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities explicitly stated that “virtual currency, including Bitcoin,” did not qualify as money under the state’s money transmission laws. With Shapiro as governor, the department included crypto in this definition.
JB Pritzker
JB Pritzker, who has served as the Illinois Governor since 2019, is also one of the names being considered for the Democratic ticket. In August 2021, Pritzker spoke at crypto trading platform CoinFlip’s offices for the announcement of the company’s new headquarters. The governor said at the time that “the future of cryptocurrency is in Illinois” and encouraged industry leaders to flock to the state.
Gavin Newsom
In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to harmonize regulatory frameworks for blockchain between the US government and California — one of the first actions of its kind. In October 2023, he also approved a bill — the Digital Financial Assets Law — requiring additional regulations on crypto firms operating in the state. The legislation is set to be enforced beginning in July 2025.
Buttigieg, Pritzker, Shapiro and Newsom have all endorsed Harris as president. Other potential running mates include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has largely been as silent on crypto as Vice President Harris.
None of the potential vice president candidates have a rating on Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto initiative, a website that lists what politicians have said and voted regarding digital assets. Vice President Harris’ rating at the time of publication was “pending.”
Trump’s running mate, whom he announced in a social media post amid the Republican National Convention on July 15, is JD Vance. The Ohio senator reported holding up to $250,000 worth of Bitcoin in 2022 and voted in favor of a joint resolution to overturn an SEC rule on banks reporting crypto as a liability on their balance sheets.
Vance’s addition to the Republican ticket followed Trump’s campaign announcing that it would accept crypto donations and enact policies to favor BTC miners if he were reelected in 2024. However, the vice presidential pick previously said Trump was “unfit” to be president, referred to him as “America’s Hitler,” and said that anyone who voted for him was an “idiot.”