Kamala Harris chooses Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate
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Members of Harris’ team were dispatched to the Minnesota governor’s mansion to congratulate him and fly with him to Philadelphia for the rally, the outlet reported.
Harris became increasingly comfortable with Walz during the final days of the vetting process — and was particularly impressed by his “happy go lucky” attitude, sources told CNN.
Walz spent 24 years in the Army National Guard and then a decade in the US House of Representatives, serving a largely rural district in southern Minnesota, before running for governor in 2018.
In selecting Walz, Harris appears to be seeking to boost the Democratic ticket in the Midwest.
The Democrat would likely bring a more centrist image to the 2024 Democratic ticket after having won his gubernatorial election by double digits, with even more votes and more counties than Hillary Clinton did in the state during the 2016 presidential election.
Yet conservatives stressed the choice would still push the ticket into a far liberal territory — noting that his first executive move as Minnesota’s governor was launching a statewide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commission, which he renewed after being re-elected for another term in 2022.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Walz’s selection the “most left-wing ticket in American history” and accused his Minnesota counterpart of not doing enough to stem violence during the 2020 protests in his state over the killing of George Floyd.
Walz caught flak at the time from the left after Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said he was too slow in deploying the National Guard to quell widespread riots in the city, which suffered $500 million in property damages and looting after the death of George Floyd.
Conservative critics have harped on his botched response during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included wasting more than $5 million in state funds to purchase a refrigerated warehouse for a potential morgue that remained vacant — and permitting a $250 million scheme that defrauded the federal government of COVID stimulus dollars and exploited poor children.
As a Harris campaign surrogate, he has played the loyal foot soldier by attacking Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance as out of touch with middle America and far too socially conservative.
Harris had to choose her No. 2 quickly after the Democratic National Committee adopted rules enforcing a virtual roll call vote to appoint both the presidential and vice presidential nominee in the first week of August.
She was reported to have fired off vetting materials just days after Biden suspended his presidential campaign last month.
In the days leading up to her announcement, Harris had zeroed in on a trio of potential finalists — including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Others believed to be on her early vetting list had included North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
The Democratic Party mostly coalesced around Harris within days of her accepting Biden’s endorsement to replace him on the top of the ticket. The reported vetted candidates had been strong supporters of the Biden-Harris ticket and quickly pivoted to throw their weight behind Harris when Biden dropped his bid.
One strong Biden-Harris proponent was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, but he could not be considered because he hails from the same state as Harris.
A vice presidential candidate from a swing-state could give Harris an extra boost from voters in her fight against former President Donald Trump.
Harris’ campaign is banking on being more successful with minority voters compared to Trump’s reach, and is continuing to focus on the battleground states Biden was hoping to reach.
The potential list of VPs mostly came from the targeted swing states.
“We continue to focus on the Blue Wall states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — and the Sun Belt states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada,” Harris for President Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon had said in a statement in the first week of the campaign shift.
It comes after Harris officially secured the Democratic presidential nomination Monday night after receiving votes from 99% of the DNC delegates during a five-day round of online voting.
Harris was the only candidate who qualified for the virtual roll call electronic ballot – getting more than the required 300 delegates to back her.
After Tuesday’s day trip to Pennsylvania, Harris and her running mate are set to spend the next few days flying thousands of miles around the country as they tour critical battleground states.
They will be tailed in some locations by Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance.
Harris’ No. 2 may have to face off in a debate against Vance, though the dates and logistics have yet to be set.
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