Vice President Kamala Harris selected progressive Minnesota governor Tim Walz on Tuesday to be her running mate for her 2024 presidential campaign, a move meant to placate the far-left faction of her party and appeal to the midwesterners Harris needs to win in November.
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris said on X, with a link to donate to the Harris-Walz campaign.
“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his,” she added.
“It’s great to have him on the team.”
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.
Now let’s get to work. Join us:https://t.co/W4AE2WlMTj
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 6, 2024
The announcement comes ahead of Harris’s Tuesday evening campaign rally in Philadelphia, which is expected to be the largest of her presidential run thus far.
Walz and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro were the two remaining finalists for Harris’s vice presidential nod after Senator Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear (D) fell out of contention.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign,” Walz said on X. “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.”
A military veteran and former teacher, Walz began his political career with a narrow victory over a Republican incumbent in a 2006 congressional race. He won reelection five times and became a reliably liberal Democratic member.
In 2018, Walz won the Minnesota gubernatorial election, and four years later comfortably held the seat after presiding over the race riots sparked by the death of George Floyd. Minnesota Democrats secured a legislative trifecta in 2022, and Walz subsequently signed progressive legislation on issues ranging from abortion and guns to school lunches and noncompete agreements.
Republicans will likely highlight Walz’s progressive record and the fraud scandals the Minnesota government has suffered under his watch. They will also point out that, as Minnesota governor, Walz failed to stop the 2020 riots, allowing widespread looting and property damage, including the ransacking of a police precinct.
“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,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
“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.”
By selecting Walz over Shapiro, Harris is hoping the progressive wing of the Democratic party will continue backing her candidacy as she quietly walks back the radical stances she took four years ago, when she lurched to the left for a short-lived presidential run.
Shapiro, a Jew, would have received major backlash from progressives for his support for Israel’s war against Hamas. While his position on the war itself is mainstream among establishment Democrats, he did condemn antisemitic protests on college campuses and volunteered for a non-combat role with the IDF when he was in college.
Walz, by contrast, has spoken sympathetically about the left-wing anti-Israel protests that have become a fixture across America since Hamas slaughtered 1,200 civilians and took 25o hostages on October 7th.
Last night, Walz fundraised for Harris in Minneapolis alongside other Democratic party leaders, auditioning for the vice presidential nomination and lavishing Harris with praise. He will now be joining Harris on a swing-state campaign tour after she officially secured the Democratic nomination with 99 percent of the party’s delegates voting for her virtually.
“Kamala Harris did not pick Josh Shapiro because antisemitic progressives did not like that he is Jewish. It was Harris’ first major decision as the nominee and she caved to the pro-Hamas contingency within the Democratic Party,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the GOP’s senate campaign arm.
“Tim Walz reinforces Kamala Harris’ biggest weaknesses: crime and immigration. Kamala Harris helped bankroll the 2020 riots in Minnesota when she promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund – Walz let Minnesota burn. Kamala Harris supported decriminalizing illegal immigration and abolishing ICE – Walz supported making Minnesota a sanctuary state.”
Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortex (D., N.Y.), said Harris made an “excellent decision” choosing Walz as her running mate, reflecting the progressive excitement about the pick.
“Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people,” she said on X. “They won’t back down under tight odds, either – from healthcare to school lunch.”