Vice President Kamala Harris doesn’t want to kill the vibe.
Harris will announce on Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate. In making the selection, Harris has shown that, above all else, she does not want to take even the slightest risk of upsetting the optimism that has surrounded her since President Joe Biden made his shocking decision to drop out of the 2024 race.
Harris could have potentially given herself a leg up in one of the seven swing states that decide the election. No state or potential running mate loomed larger than Pennsylvania and its governor, Josh Shapiro. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona was also reportedly a finalist as well.
But progressives and some party activists made clear they were less than thrilled with either man.
Shapiro faced intense scrutiny over his views of the war in Gaza. He has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he also previously compared some pro-Palestinian protesters to the Ku Klux Klan.
Key voices in the labor movement also grumbled about Shapiro and Kelly. Shapiro, despite having the backing of some unions in his state, alienated progressives over his past support for school vouchers. Kelly was viewed suspiciously after only offering a belated endorsement of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, Democrats’ sweeping proposal to boost union power.
Walz faced no such opposition. Despite being virtually unknown on the national stage, the Minnesota Democrat vaulted into contention with a series of media appearances. In one appearance, Walz helped pioneer the party’s decision to label former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, “weird.”
A former NRA-endorsed congressman, Walz has reinvented himself as a progressive governor who has overseen the passage of a raft of liberal priorities to become law thanks to Democrats’ trifecta in state government. Under Walz, Minnesota has passed universal free school lunches and universal background checks on firearms. Recreational marijuana is legal. And abortion rights are enshrined in law. It’s a record that leading progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont love.
“I had the opportunity to talk to your governor a few days ago and I am very impressed by him,” Sanders said Saturday in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio. “I think you have an excellent governor who understands the needs of working families.”
Harris has still taken risks in trying to keep the peace. Walz’s home state of Minnesota is nowhere near as competitive as Pennsylvania or Arizona. And like the other reported finalists, Walz is barely known on the national stage.
Beyond the “weird” label, Walz has shown he will enthusiastically embrace the vice presidential running mate’s traditional role in leading the attack. Drawing on his rural Nebraska roots, Walz said Vance doesn’t truly understand small-town America.
“What I know is that people like JD Vance know nothing about small town America,” Walz recently told MSNBC. “My town had 400 people in it, 2,400 kids in my graduating class, 12 were cousins, and he gets it all wrong. It’s not about hate. It’s not about collapsing in. The golden rule is mind your own damn business. Their policies are what have destroyed rural America.”
Like Vance, Walz served in the military. Unlike the Ohio Republican, Walz has far more experience in elected office. Vance, who could be the nation’s first millennial vice president, has served just roughly 18 months in the US Senate. Walz served six terms in Congress before running for governor.
Walz won’t be alone, either. The first big event featuring the Democratic presidential ticket is in Philadelphia, and Shapiro may even be on hand.
Harris decided that tapping Pennsylvania’s popular lead was too big of a risk. But she’ll need all the help she can get in the state that is likely to determine the entire race.
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