Here are the Democrats who might be Kamala Harris's VP pick — and their LGBTQ+ records

Vice President Kamala Harris has become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden's historic announcement a couple of weeks ago. As of last week, she already had the delegates to win the nomination, which will be cemented at the party's convention later this month in Chicago.

Related: How pro-LGBTQ+ is Kamala Harris?

The following names have been floated in the media as possible contenders to join Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket. Here they are, along with their LGBTQ+ rights records.

Andy Beshear

Beshear, 46, is the second-term governor of Kentucky. He was reelected last November with almost 53 percent of the vote. For a Democrat in a red state, that’s almost a landslide. And it’s that status that makes Beshear a leading contender for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination.

That, and during his first term he had successes including producing budget surpluses and lowering unemployment in the state, and expanding health care for nearly 100,000 state residents.

His LGBTQ+ record is mostly positive. Last year, he was applauded for vetoing an anti-trans bill; however, the Republican led state legislature overrode the veto. He has supported a bill banning conversion therapy and has spoken out against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, However, in a campaign ad last year, Beshear said, “I’ve never supported gender-reassignment surgery for kids — and those procedures don’t happen here in Kentucky.” In fact, genital surgeries are hardly ever performed on minors anywhere.

Beshear and his wife, Britainy, have two children, Will and Lila.

Sherrod Brown

Ohio Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, 72, is up for reelection this year, and if he wins, which he is expected to, he will enter his thirdterm in the Senate, having first been elected in 2006. He is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

In an exclusive interview with The Advocatelast year, Brown talked about his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community, which includes voting against the Defense of Marriage Act as a House member in 1996. And each year Brown and some of his Senate colleagues reintroduce legislation to expand federal civil rights laws — the Equality Act — to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“For the last six years, I’ve sponsored the bill that designates June as LGBTQ Pride Month, and I’ll do it again this year, so my commitment to the LGBTQ community hasn’t wavered,” he told The Advocate in January of 2023. “It’s so important that we keep fighting for individual rights. Not just for LGBTQ folks, but also for other marginalized communities,” he added.

Brown is married to author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz, They have three grown daughters and a son, and eight grandchildren.

Pete Buttigieg

For our community, Buttigieg, 42, needs no introduction. He is the 19th U.S.Transportation secretary and the first out gay person confirmed by the Senate to serve in a president’s Cabinet. He was instrumental in helping to pass one of President Biden’s most consequential pieces of legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in November of 2021. Buttigieg has been the point person on delivering the infrastructure checks to cities and states around the country, earning him goodwill and name recognition.

For those unfamiliar, Buttigieg became famous as the out gay mayor of South Bend, in the dark red state of Indiana. Previously, Buttigieg was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy reserve for eight years. He graduated from Harvard and the University of Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.

Buttigieg ran for president in 2020 and made history as the first LGBTQ+ person to win a caucus or primary when he notched a caucus win in Iowa.

He and his husband, Chasten, have become perhaps the most prominent queer married couple in the United States, They went public in August of 2021 about their process to adopt children and the next month announced the birth of their twin children, Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg

Gavin Newsom

Newsom, 57, is perhaps the most recognized name being bandied about. He is arguably one of the most prolific LGBTQ+ political allies in the country. Last year, he signed nine pro-LGBTQ+ bills into law.

He also appointed the state’s first Black and queer U.S. senator, Laphonza Butler in October of 2023 to fill the seat of the late Sen.Dianne Feinstein.

Newsom was first elected California governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He also survived a recall vote in 2021. Previously, he was the state’s lieutenant governor, and before that mayor of San Francisco. In 2004, as mayor, he famously ordered the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples during the “Winter of Love” as couples married in February and March. The marriages were stopped by a court order. And Newsom’s bold decision was later struck down by the California Supreme Court, who also revoked the licenses.

Newsom and his wife, Jennifer, have four young children.

Josh Shapiro

Josh Shapiro, 51, was elected as Pennsylvania’s 48th governor in November of 2022. He's appeared as a frontrunner in recent days, but controversy over a sexual harassment claim against one of his former aides may dim his chances.

Shapiro was elected the state’s attorney general in 2016 and made national news when he led a grand jury investigation into the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal. His investigation uncovered thousands of victims and allegations against 301 priests. This spurred similar inquiries in states across the country.

Shapiro has long supported the LGBTQ+ community, including allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that conforms with their gender identity and supporting transgender people serving in the military. He called for an end to the Food and Drug Administration's ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men. He also has come out against conversion therapy.

Shapiro and his wife, Lori, have four children.

Mark Kelly

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly was first elected in 2020 in a special election to fill the seat after the death of former Republican Senator John McCain.

Before entering politics, Kelly was a NASA astronaut and a U.S. Navy captain, having completed four space missions and serving as a commander on the last two. His career in space exploration, alongside his brother Scott Kelly, also a NASA astronaut. Kelly was a strong supporter of both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Kelly is an LGBTQ+ ally who voted in favor of the Equality Act, which seeks to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Kelly is married to Gabrielle Giffords, a former U.S. Congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt in 2011. The couple have been advocates for gun control, an issue close to their hearts. Kelly has two daughters from a previous marriage, Claudia and Claire.

J.B. Pritzker

J.B. Pritzker, the current Governor of Illinois, has had a diverse career, spanning business, philanthropy, and politics. Before entering public service, he founded 1871, a renowned non-profit small business incubator in Chicago, which helped establish the city as a major technology startup hub.

Pritzker was sworn in as Illinois' 43rd governor in January 2019 and has since implemented a significant and progressive policy agenda. This includes "Rebuild Illinois," the largest infrastructure investment in state history.

Pritzker has signed state laws that ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, raised the state minimum wage to $15 and measures that protect reproductive rights. Pritzker has been a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, promoting legislation that advances equal rights and inclusion, including for trans youth.

Pritzker is married to Mary Kathryn (MK) Pritzker, and they have two children, Teddi and Don.