Just days after Joe Biden exited the 2024 race on Sunday, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and speculation about who will join her on the Democratic ticket are in full swing.

Within three days, the vice president secured key endorsements, received more than $100 million in donations and gained widespread support from delegates. With the debate about who will replace Biden all but over, the focus has shifted to discussions about who Harris will select as her running mate.

According to earlier reporting by USA TODAY, the Harris campaign has already requested vetting materials from at least seven Democrats under consideration to be her vice president.

While the campaign has not yet publicly confirmed any potential vice presidential nominees, the conversation about Beshear being a candidate has not stopped. ABC News also reported that the campaign was vetting him.

More: Harris’ VP options: From Josh Shapiro to Mark Kelly, sizing up the slate’s pros and cons

Who is Andy Beshear?

Beshear, 46, was first elected governor of the Bluegrass State in 2018, and his current term ends in 2027. Like Harris, he is a former state attorney general. He served Kentucky in that position from 2016 to 2019.

As a Democrat representing a reliably red state, the governor explained that the party needs a “unifying message” to win in November.

“The message ought to be: I’m in this to build a better life for everyone. Not just Democrats. Not just Republicans,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday.

In 2019, the governor signed an executive order restoring the voting rights of more than 140,000 convicted felons with completed sentences, addressing one of the country’s highest rates of voter disenfranchisement. The order was similar to one his father and former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear issued in 2015, which was promptly rescinded by former Gov. Matt Bevin shortly after he took office the same year.

Will Harris select Beshear for VP?

Beshear said Harris has his “full endorsement” in the presidential race and would do all he could to support her during his MSNBC appearance. When asked if her campaign had reached out to vet him as a potential running mate, he said, “I don’t know how that process is going to work, (but) it’s flattering to be a part of it.

He also criticized former President Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, proving he could be an effective attack dog for the Harris campaign.

“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like because let me just tell you that JD Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said.

The VP nominee short-list is believed to include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Cedric Richmond, a former congressman from Louisiana who served as a top aide in the Biden White House and on his campaign.

On Wednesday, comments from the Harris campaign downplayed the VP rumors and said any reporting on developments or updates in Vice President Harris’ running mate search is “premature and speculative.”

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_

CAMPTON, Kentucky — A southern Ohio man who had been missing for two weeks after going hiking in the Daniel Boone National Forest was found alive.

Scott Hern, 48, had last been seen on July 6 before his rescue, according to the Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team. He is still recovering at UK Hospitals in Lexington, a news release says.

“It is truly a miracle that Mr. Hern was found after 14 days and 12 days without any food or water,” says a post from the search team on social media. “We were persistent in our search, but hope was fading.”

Hern had not told anyone he intended to go hiking in the Red River Gorge Area of the forest but he had been seen looking for directions on how to locate Sal Branch Waterfalls, the search team says.

After he was reported missing, his vehicle was found near the head of the Tower Rock Trail. Family members said his diary indicated several locations he planned to visit.

Twenty-five people from Wolfe County Search & Rescue, Powell County Search & Rescue, Red STAR Wilderness EMS and two canine units from Hunter Hounds searched for Hern for several days over rugged terrain, officials say. Despite receiving tips on his possible location, searchers were unable to find him.

On Saturday, the rescue team decided to again search near the falls area Hern had been searching for a located a walking stick and found a shoe print. A short time later they heard Hern yelling for help, the search team says.

Eric Wolterman, a member of the Wolfe County rescue team, says in a post on social media that the discovery of Hern was an emotional moment because searchers had begun to fear he was dead.

“I was the first one to get up to him and I said ‘My name is Eric, I’m with Wolfe County search and rescue, you are safe, we are going to get you out of here,’” Wolterman said. “He looked at me and said “Thank you so much. Will you give me a hug?’ I got teary-eyed and gave him a big hug. I think it was the best hug of both of our lives.”

Kentucky State Police used a helicopter and a hoist to rescue Hern and take him to a hospital. He reportedly was dehydrated and covered in dirt.

“It was a miracle, absolutely,” John May, the chief of the Wolfe County Search & Rescue, tells the Ironton Tribune. “People don’t live that long in the back country without food and water.”