Where do Kamala Harris' potential running mates stand on abortion access?

Seven of Vice President Kamala Harris' reported potential 2024 running mates have records supporting abortion, according to their statements and voting history. 

As the 2024 election approaches, political analysts have suspected Harris might choose Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa.; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.; Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky.; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill.; or Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to be her running mate. 

Those seven have spoken or acted in favor of abortion access in the past several months. 

Fox News Digital communicated with Beshear’s political strategist, Eric Hyers, who said the leader has "governed as a pro-choice governor," citing his record of vetoing several pieces of legislation targeting abortion access. 

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Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear delivers his victory speech to a crowd at an election night event at Old Forrester's Paristown Hall on November 7, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images)

"Governor Beshear is pro-choice and believes this is a decision that should be between a woman and her doctor," Hyers told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.  

Hyers explained that Beshear granted Planned Parenthood’s application to operate a second abortion clinic in the state and kept abortion clinics open during the pandemic, despite political backlash.  

"He has shown political courage time and time again while demonstrating a proven ability to connect with voters all over the state on this issue in a way that transcends party lines," Hyers said.  

Walz has also worked to create laws supporting abortion in Minnesota. 

In April 2023, Walz signed the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, which "ensures that patients traveling to Minnesota for abortion care, and the providers who serve them, are protected from legal attacks and criminal penalties from other states," according to the governor’s website. 

Walz extended his hand to Iowans July 29 on X, formerly Twitter, following the state’s six-week abortion ban. 

"In Minnesota, we take care of our neighbors," Walz wrote. "It’s just what we do. As our neighbors in Iowa are stripped of their fundamental rights, my message is clear: Your reproductive freedom will remain protected in Minnesota." 

Josh Shapiro speaks at his swearing in as Governor of Pennsylvania at the State Capitol Building on January 17, 2023 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images) (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Shapiro has not been shy in voicing his support for abortion and birth control access. Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro’s team, who pointed to his previous statements on the matter. 

"Abortion is healthcare," Shapiro said May 10 on X. "And health care decisions should be made by women and their doctors — not extremist politicians. As long as I’m your Governor, abortion will remain safe, legal, and accessible here in Pennsylvania." 

Shapiro has been active in speaking out against the state ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion services, standing alongside 21 other governors in urging the Supreme Court to uphold medication abortion, and creating an abortion access website for Pennsylvanians to "find a provider," according to a press release provided to Fox News Digital.

"As long as I’m your Governor, we will defend access to reproductive health care here in Pennsylvania," Shapiro wrote May 16 on X. "From ensuring that abortion remains safe, legal, and accessible, to making clear to insurer that it is best practice to cover over the counter birth control — we are laser focused on advancing reproductive freedom." 

Buttigieg, who made remarks during a recent "White Dudes for Harris" virtual campaign event, argued that abortion access also gives more freedom to American men, according to previous Fox News Digital reporting. 

"I'm so glad [Harris] has made freedom the theme of her campaign, because I think in so many ways that's what's at stake," Buttigieg said on Monday. "And yes, women's freedom is Exhibit A after Donald Trump demolished the right to choose, but of course, men are also more free in a country where we have a president who stands up for things like access to abortion care."  

"Men are more free when the leader of the free world and the leader of this country supports access to birth control and to IVF," he continued. 

Kelly came out against the Arizona Supreme Court's decision to restore the 1864 total abortion ban in April.

"This disastrous decision sets women’s rights in our state back two centuries and means that Arizona women have now lost the right to an abortion," Kelly said, according to his website. "It will criminalize doctors for doing their jobs providing the most appropriate care to patients, which will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on the health and freedom of Arizona women and families. And it’s just not who we are as Arizonans. This backwards law may have been written 160 years ago, but it’s going to be reinstated because of politicians who worked to overturn Roe v. Wade and its protections for abortion rights. I know this is a difficult day for so many Arizonans, and trust that I’m going to fight as hard as ever to restore reproductive rights so that Arizona women can once again make these decisions for themselves."  

Pritzker has the support of multiple abortion access groups, according to WTTW, as they try to boost his chances of being chosen as Harris' running mate.

He signed the Birth Equity Act on Monday, which requires state-backed insurance to "cover abortion care without co-pays and deductibles, including coverage of abortion medications," according to WBEZ Chicago. The legislation also helps coverage for birth services, such as doulas, diapers, lactation specialists and midwives. 

Raimondo supported Harris "fiercely protecting reproductive rights" in an X post on July 22. 

Some pro-life groups are backing the Trump-Vance ticket after Roe v. Wade was overturned following Trump’s nomination of Supreme Court justices. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the conclusion of the Investing in America tour at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 14, 2023. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

CatholicVote President Brian Burch said the organization will "proudly help the Trump-Vance ticket win in November," while also making sure they understand the dangers of abortion drugs, Fox News Digital previously reported.

"Vance represents a vision for the country that we have long embraced — a vision that proudly prioritizes American workers, families, and children," he said. "A vision that proudly puts the needs and interests of Americans first, while pushing back against the secular, technocratic, and globalist agendas of our elitist corporate and political class that despise common people and our common moral and religious way of life." 

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Walz, Buttigieg, Kelly, Pritzker and Raimondo, but did not receive further comment. 

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.