Kamala Harris has been accused of picking the wrong running mate as the Democratic blame game over her humiliating election defeat began.
The US vice-president appeared on course to lose every one of the seven swing states that determined the White House race.
Ms Harris, 60, declined to address the nation on election night, leaving Democratic officials to fill the vacuum.
Some blamed her choice of Tim Walz, the unassuming Minnesota governor, as her vice-presidential candidate.
The leading alternative had been Josh Shapiro, the charismatic and popular governor of all-important Pennsylvania.
Lindy Li, a Pennsylvania-based senior Democratic official, told Fox News: “People are wondering tonight what would have happened had Shapiro been on the ticket. And not only in terms of Pennsylvania.”