Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate as she heads toward a November faceoff against former President Donald Trump, she announced Tuesday.
Harris announced her choice of Walz in a post on Instagram and in a text message to supporters, praising his support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.
“I share this background both because it’s impressive in its own right, and because you see in no uncertain terms how it informs his record,” Harris wrote on Instagram.
“But what impressed me most about Tim is his deep commitment to his family: Gwen, Gus, and Hope,” she added, referencing Walz’s wife and children. “Doug and I look forward to working with him and Gwen to build an administration that reflects our shared values.”
“We are going to build a great partnership,” Harris wrote. “We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”
Walz, 60, emerged as a dark horse contender for the No. 2 slot as chatter over other high-profile names, in particular Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), dominated the early portion of the veepstakes.
But the Minnesota governor saw his profile rise considerably over the past week, especially after a viral cable news interview in which he derided some Republicans as “weird” — a line of attack later adopted by national Democrats.
His selection concludes a whirlwind two-week period that saw President Biden and his reelection bid, Harris consolidate support within the party to become the presumptive nominee, and the vice president’s team rapidly vet contenders to join her on the ticket in November.
The pick drew praise from both progressive and more moderate Democrats.
“Vice President Harris made an excellent decision in Gov. Walz as her running mate,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) posted on the social platform X. “Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people. They won’t back down under tight odds, either – from healthcare to school lunch.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who was the first House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside, called Walz a “solid, decent former colleague with good humor, a former teacher and veteran, who represented a Minnesota district usually represented by the GOP.”
“You can’t not get along with no-nonsense Tim,” Doggett posted on X. “As Governor, he offers a straight-talking, compassionate leader delivering the progress we need.”
Harris had not made up her mind on a running mate as of Monday night, taking the decision up until the final hours.
Walz was also seen by many as a safer choice for Harris thanks to his liberal bona fides and the fact that some of the other contenders had come under fire from certain segments of the left. Shapiro received heavy scrutiny recently over his response to pro-Palestinian protests that emerged in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, and both he and Kelly drew the ire of union leaders.
Adding to Walz’s appeal is the fact that he hails from a Midwestern state that Trump has increasingly set his sights on flipping. Though Biden won Minnesota in 2020 by 7 points, and no Republican has won the presidential race there in more than 50 years, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), have stepped up their efforts to campaign in the state.
But he is not without vulnerabilities. Republicans are likely to use some of his policy positions on abortion and LGBTQ issues to paint him as a radical liberal, just as they have with Harris.
Walz was governor of Minnesota during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Republicans are certain to highlight images of that tumultuous time. The Trump campaign had previously attacked Harris for promoting a bail fund for demonstrators arrested in Minnesota following Floyd’s death.
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide,” she added. “If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”
Harris and Walz will storm battleground states this week, starting Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. The two will travel later this week to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada. Planned trips to North Carolina and Georgia were reportedly postponed as Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Southeast.
Biden, Obama Hail Harris for VP picks
United States President Joe Biden has praised the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden, who had endorsed Harris for the US 2024 presidential race, took to his X handle on Tuesday, saying that the Harris-Walz ticket “will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class.”
Biden tweeted, “The first major decision a party nominee makes is their choice for Vice President. And Kamala Harris has made a great decision in choosing Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate.
“I’ve known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as governor. A husband and father, he’s been a school teacher and a high school football coach. He served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and became the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress. As governor, he’s been a strong, principled and effective leader.
“The Harris-Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class. They will be the strongest defenders of our personal freedoms and our democracy. And they will ensure that America continues to lead the world and play its role as the indispensable nation.”
Biden noted that it was high time fellow Democrats and Americans “committed to freedom, democracy and American leadership in the world to rally behind the Harris-Walz ticket.
“Every generation of Americans faces a moment where they are asked to defend American democracy. That moment is now.”
The 81-year-old president pulled out of the presidential race following a stumbling debate performance that widely alarmed Democrats about his fitness for office and ability to defeat former president Donald Trump, who recently escaped an assassination plot.
Trump announced late Friday that he had agreed to debate Harris on Fox News on 4 September 2024.
“I have agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, 4 September,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a statement shared on his X handle on Tuesday, former US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, also commended the Harris-Walz ticket.
With an accompanying statement, Obama tweeted, “Like Vice President Harris, Governor #Tim_Walz believes that government works to serve us. Not just some of us, but all of us. That’s what makes him an outstanding governor, and that’s what will make him an even better Vice President. Michelle and I couldn’t be happier for Tim and Gwen, their family, and our country.”
