Vice President Kamala Harris has finally selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election, following her replacement of President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, ending weeks of speculation and a bitter fight between candidates, according to multiple sources.
Harris is expected to announce her choice to her supporters before she and Walz make their first joint appearance at a campaign event in Philadelphia scheduled for Tuesday evening, as reported by four people familiar with the situation to CNN. Harris' team sent representatives to the Minnesota governor's mansion to congratulate Walz and accompany him to Philadelphia for the rally, according to the report.
Harris Has Her Companion
During the final days of the vetting process, Harris grew more at ease with Walz and was notably impressed by his "easygoing" demeanor, sources told CNN.
By choosing Walz, Harris seems to aim at strengthening the Democratic ticket in the Midwest.
Walz, who won his gubernatorial race by double digits, could bring a more centrist profile to the 2024 Democratic ticket. His victory saw him secure more votes and counties in Minnesota than Hillary Clinton did in the 2016 presidential election.
However, conservatives argue that his selection would still push the ticket further to the left. They point out that his first executive action as Minnesota's governor was to establish a statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commission, which he renewed after being re-elected in 2022.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis labeled Walz's selection as the "most left-wing ticket in American history" and criticized him for not adequately addressing violence during the 2020 protests in Minnesota following George Floyd's death.
At the time, Walz faced criticism from the left when Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey accused him of being too slow in deploying the National Guard to manage the riots, which caused $500 million in damages and looting.
Conservative critics have also highlighted his problematic response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including spending over $5 million on a refrigerated warehouse that remained unused and allowing a $250 million scheme that defrauded the federal government and exploited low-income children.
As a campaign surrogate for Harris, he has loyally attacked Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, criticizing him as disconnected from middle America and excessively conservative.
Harris needed to select her running mate quickly after the Democratic National Committee established rules for a virtual roll call vote to appoint both the presidential and vice presidential nominees in the first week of August.
It was reported that she quickly sent out vetting materials just days after Biden suspended his presidential campaign last month.
In the lead-up to her announcement, Harris focused on a shortlist of potential candidates, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
Others thought to be considered during the early vetting phase included North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
The Good and The Bad Side
The 60-year-old father of two, married to his teacher wife Gwen since 1994, joins the ticket as a win for the far left of the party, who had reservations about some other candidates' stances on Israel.
In Minnesota, Walz has enacted several progressive measures, including codifying abortion rights, implementing universal free school meals, legalizing recreational marijuana, and restoring voting rights to former prisoners.
Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before spending a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represented a largely rural district in southern Minnesota. He then ran for governor in 2018.
The former teacher is known for being the Democrat who popularized calling Republicans 'weird,' a trend that has gained traction in the campaign following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race last month.
Walz transformed Minnesota into a haven for LGBTQ Americans and has supported making the state the 13th 'sanctuary' state for undocumented migrants.
After growing up in a small Nebraska town, Walz began his teaching career. He started in China before moving on to teach in Nebraska and Minnesota.
In Mankato, Minnesota — his wife's home state — Walz taught geography and was the founding faculty adviser for the school's first gay-straight alliance, established in 1999.
He also served as the school's football coach.
Walz and his wife Gwen have two children: Hope, who recently graduated from college in Montana, and Gus, who is currently in public high school in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He is a big fan of Diet Mountain Dew but doesn't drink coffee and has recently abstained from alcohol, having been arrested for DWI in Nebraska in 1995 before quitting.
Their children were conceived through IVF and fertility treatments, an aspect of his life that could be leveraged to critique Republicans on reproductive rights.
