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Report: Lujan Grisham was among candidates vetted for VP slot on Harris ticket
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, left, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, right, greet Vice President Kamala Harris after she landed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque in this October 2022 file photo. Lujan Grisham was among the potential running mates vetted by the Harris campaign, before the likely Democratic nominee selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her pick.
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SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was among the candidates who were asked by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign team to be officially vetted as a possible running mate, according to Politico.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman confirmed the report, which indicated the governor was one of about nine candidates who underwent initial vetting.
Harris announced Tuesday her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential nominee, ending days of frenzied speculation.
Lujan Grisham, who is currently in India on an economic development trip, praised the pick on social media, describing Walz as smart, effective and dedicated.
“His previous experience as an educator, and his ongoing work to improve the lives of veterans, has helped improve countless lives,” Lujan Grisham wrote on her campaign account on X, while also citing her overlap with Walz when both were members of Congress.
Lujan Grisham has not publicly expressed interest in leaving her current job. Her second term as governor ends in 2026.
But she has ties to Harris, who officiated Lujan Grisham’s wedding with Manny Cordova in May 2022.
The Democratic governor was also considered for a Cabinet position in President Joe Biden’s administration in 2020, but ultimately declined an offered post and stayed put in New Mexico.
Other candidates who were asked to be officially vetted by the Harris campaign included Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, according to Politico.
Lujan Grisham was reportedly not one of the six finalist candidates who were interviewed remotely last week, the online news outlet reported.
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No New Mexican has ever served as U.S. president or vice president, though former Gov. Bill Richardson sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.
However, several New Mexicans have served as Cabinet secretaries, a list that includes current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who represented an Albuquerque-area congressional seat before being appointed in 2020.
