Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, capping more than two weeks of speculation over who would join her at the top of the Democrat ticket.
“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.”
It also marks the start of a four-day battleground state tour that will take her to six states with her new running mate: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada.
“I’m all in. Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school,” he wrote.
“So, let’s get this done, folks!”
Walz, 60, began his career in the Army National Guard, serving for 24 years, before becoming a high school teacher in Mankato. He was first elected to Congress in 2006, defeating incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht in Minnesota’s first congressional district, and was reelected for another five terms.
He was the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress and was rated the seventh most bipartisan representative in the 114th Congress by the Lugar Center at Georgetown University.
Walz defeated Republican Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in 2018 to become the 41st governor of Minnesota. In office, Walz spearheaded a plan to provide universal free school meals for students, pushed to get Minnesota on 100 percent “clean electricity” by 2040, and expanded paid leave for workers.
The governor also signed a hands-free driving bill into law, which prohibits the use of cell phones while driving to reduce distractions. He also worked to preserve Minnesota’s Health Care Access Fund and lowered taxes on seniors and small businesses.
According to strategist Brian Darling, Walz is perceived as someone who can speak to swing state voters, although he is not from a swing state. Minnesota is one of the most reliably Democrat states in presidential elections—it hasn’t voted for a Republican in 52 years.
Walz was also suggested by the nearly 50 progressive leaders who urged Harris not to select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate. Walz is seen as popular with midwestern and union voters, and is sometimes highlighted for his military background.
In 2020, candidate Joe Biden carried Pennsylvania by less than one percent over President Donald Trump. Walz’s appeal to rural voters and military veterans could help him in blue-wall states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
Other candidates that made the vice presidential shortlist include Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
“Vice President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support—and I know that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward,” he wrote.
“Over the next 90 days, I look forward to traveling all across the Commonwealth to unite Pennsylvanians behind Kamala Harris’ campaign to defeat Donald Trump, become the 47th President of the United States, and build a better future for our country.”
Shapiro said he will join Harris and Walz Tuesday night at the vice president’s campaign rally in Philadelphia.
In a statement posted to a campaign fundraising website, Trump said Walz would support “open borders” immigration policies and “rubber stamp” energy and climate strategies similar to the Green New Deal, a bill Harris cosponsored while in the U.S. Senate.
Marc Ellinger, chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association, criticized Walz for his handling of the protests and riots that broke out in 2020 after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“The American people do not want what Tim Walz allowed to happen in Minneapolis coming to their communities,” Ellinger said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis echoed Ellinger’s concerns over the 2020 protests after Harris announced her running mate pick.
Democrats Unite Behind Harris–Walz
Biden called Harris’s pick a “great decision” in a post on X.“The Harris–Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class,” Biden said, adding that the two will be the “strongest defenders” for personal freedoms and democracy.
“It’s time for all Democrats—and indeed all Americans—committed to freedom, democracy, and American leadership in the world to rally behind the Harris–Walz ticket,” Biden said.
“By selecting Tim Walz to be her vice president from a pool of outstanding Democrats, Kamala Harris has chosen an ideal partner—and made it clear exactly what she stands for,” Obama said.
“As governor, Tim helped families and businesses recover from the pandemic, established paid family leave, guaranteed the right to an abortion, and put common sense gun safety measures in place to keep communities safe.”
“There’s no doubt the Harris/Walz ticket will lead us to victory in November and build a future Americans can be proud of,” Schumer said.
