Harris vice presidential pick already has campaign staff

Vice President Kamala Harris is still sitting down with contenders to become her No. 2, but her campaign has already tapped aides to help that person in preparation for their 100-odd day sprint to Election Day .

Aides already picked for Harris's vice presidential choice include an alumni of President Joe Biden 's 2020 campaign who performed a similar support role for the new 2024 Democratic nominee when Biden selected her for the position for which she is now interviewing.

A source familiar confirmed to the Washington Examiner that person is Liz Allen. Allen, who will be the running mate's chief of staff, was most recently the State Department 's assistant secretary for Global Public Affairs.

Campaign veterans call the process “prize patrol,” a quip alluding to the Publishers Clearing House ads in which million-dollar prizewinners are surprised at their homes on camera.

Harris is continuing to meet with vice presidential candidates this weekend at her Naval Observatory home in northwest Washington. The list includes Govs. Andy Beshear (D-KY), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Tim Walz (D-MN), in addition to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg . Harris and Buttigieg reportedly spoke for 90 minutes on Friday amid reports that aides from former President Barack Obama's two campaigns and White House had agreed to be part of her team, including Stephanie Cutter, Jen Palmieri, David Plouffe, and Mitch Stewart.

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Harris experienced her own "prize patrol" in 2020 after the Biden campaign paired her with eventual White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as her chief of staff before Harris becoming his vice presidential nominee had even been announced.

Harris's self-imposed deadline to make a decision is next Tuesday after her campaign announced she and her presidential understudy would embark on a five-day, seven-state swing starting in Philadelphia.