Joe Biden’s Vice-Presidential Pick: Kamala Harris

[Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his vice-presidential running mate.]

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to announce his vice-presidential choice within days. After missing one self-imposed deadline after another, he is running out of time to make his selection before the Democratic National Convention begins on Aug. 17.

Mr. Biden’s advisers say he has spoken with several of the leading candidates in recent days, and it has been confirmed that he met in person in early August with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. We do not know exactly how many face-to-face interviews Mr. Biden has conducted with potential running mates. A small handful of women remain under serious consideration.

Among the candidates reviewed most closely by Mr. Biden’s vetting team are Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, both former presidential candidates; Representatives Karen Bass of California and Val Demings of Florida; Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Susan E. Rice, the former national security adviser.

The lobbying for and against the various candidates has grown intense, and some prominent Democrats have spoken out in recent days against what appears to be a concerted effort by some Democrats to spread negative information about some of the contenders in hopes of boosting their own candidate of choice.

But people close to Mr. Biden acknowledge that, at this point, the V.P. choice is almost entirely in his hands. He has said all along that he wants a running mate with whom he has strong personal chemistry, and who could be a hand-in-glove partner in governing. Those criteria appear to have strengthened both Ms. Whitmer, with whom Mr. Biden developed a tight political bond this year, and Ms. Rice, who worked closely with Mr. Biden in the Obama administration.

Ultimately, only Mr. Biden can judge which person in this historically diverse vice-presidential field best meets his own view of what the job demands.