Democratic nominee Kamala Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate
Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, is Kamala Harris’ pick to be her vice-presidential running mate.
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris announced Tuesday morning in a post on X.
“We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election,” she added in a press statement.
Walz is known as outspoken — he coined the term “weird” to describe the Republican presidential ticket —and is well-liked in the party’s liberal wing. Walz also has insider credibility as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
In Walz, Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, chose someone who would be an easy fit in swing states, notably those in the Midwest. Most national polls show Harris, who Monday became the Democrats’ presidential nominee, in a virtual tie with former President Donald Trump.
Harris and Trump immediately engaged in political combat Tuesday. In her statement, Harris charged Trump and running mate JD Vance are running to enact an “extreme and dangerous” agenda “that will roll back Americans’ rights and freedoms, hurt the middle class, and threaten our democracy.”
The Trump team, meanwhile, tried to tie Walz to Harris’ legacy in California, a favorite target of GOP criticism.
“Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign press secretary. The campaign also released a video Tuesday painting Walz as a “left wing extremist.”
Walz, 60, provides a balance to Harris, a former attorney general and U.S. senator who once nominated will be the first woman of color to head a major-party ticket. He was elected governor in 2018. after serving in Congress for 12 years. Before seeking his House seat, he was a social studies teacher who helped coach high school football.
He introduced himself Tuesday in an 88-second video as a plain-spoken man from a small Midwestern town, who served 24 years in the Army National Guard and went on to Congress.
“My high school class was 24 people. I was related to half of them. I learned to be generous toward my neighbors, compromise without compromising my values, and to work for the common good.,” Walz says.
He describes how he used his GI benefits to become a teacher. “And I tried to teach my students what small town Nebraska taught me: respect, compromise, and service to country.,” he says.
The video also focuses on Harris, discussing her middle class roots and ending on an upbeat note. “She too grew up in a middle class family. She too goes to work every day, making sure families can not just get by but get ahead.,” Walz says.. “We believe in the promise of America. In those values I learned in Nebraska. And we’re ready to fight for them.
Despite all the video’s emphasis on kindness and humility, Walz is likely to fill a once-traditional role for a running mate: The attack dog, who takes on Republican nominee Donald Trump and his VP pick JD Vance.
The Minnesota governor was picked from what was regarded as a strong field of Democratic candidates. Reports said that Harris narrowed her choices this weekend to Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Labor had qualms about Kelly, and some party activists raised concerns that Shapiro’s strong pro-Israel stand could be a political liability amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Harris and Walz plan to appear together for the first time later Tuesday in Philadelphia, the biggest city in one of the nation’s largest swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.
They’re likely to be greeted not only an enthusiastic crowd, but also vocal, visual support from Shapiro, who is immensely popular in his home state, as well as by labor unions -- a key Democratic constituency in Pennsylvania and other swing states.
“Tim Walz doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. From delivering for working-class Americans to standing with the UAW on our picket line last year, we know which side he’s on,” the UAW tweeted Tuesday..
While Trump has a light campaign schedule this week, Vance is planning to make appearances in many of the same states where Harris and Walz will travel.
Walz is expected to appeal to both the liberal and more moderate wings of the party.
“They’re already building a campaign to unite our country,” Kelly tweeted Tuesday.
“I’ll take the prosecutor and teacher over the grifter billionaire and his venture capitalist sidekick any day,” US Senate President Pro Tem Patty Murray, D-Wash, said.
He also has strong backing in his home state.
“Tim has the courage of a veteran, the compassion of a school teacher, the grit of a football coach, and the experience of both a congressman and governor,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Just how much the vice presidential choice will make to the outcome of the November election, though, is questionable.
“Most people will base their vote on their preferences between the competing presidential candidates and the policies associated with their parties,” said Joel Goldstein, a scholar on vice presidential history.
Goldstein, a professor emeritus of law at St. Louis University, said the vice presidential choice “may affect the outcome at the margins, either because some otherwise undecided voters prefer one of the VP candidates or because the choice sends messages about the presidential candidate’s decision-making ability and values.”
So far Vance has made no apparent difference in how the public views the campaign.
Vance has stirred controversy, notably as his 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies” went viral after he was chosen for vice president. The comments were criticized by members of both parties.
“It’s early, but instead of lifting the ticket, the selection of Vance as his vice president may be a drag on Trump’s re-election chances,” said Kevin Wagner, co-director of the Public Opinion Research Lab at Florida Atlantic University, which conducts polls.
Most surveys taken in the last few days show Harris in a statistical tie with Trump, who had been leading in key swing states.
Harris, though, has gained some ground in many of those states thanks to the enthusiasm her candidacy has generated among Democrats since President Joe Biden left the race July 21 and endorsed her.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 9:07 AM