On Tuesday, Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz as her running mate, choosing the Minnesota governor as the partner most likely to complement her in a historic and challenging bid for the White House.
Walz was among several Democratic figures considered to broaden Harris’s appeal as she prepares to face Donald Trump. Harris, aiming to become the first female president, has little time before the November 5 election. The selection was first reported by CNN on Tuesday morning.
It was anticipated that Harris would select a white man to balance the ticket, choosing a Democrat who could counter Republican claims that she is too far to the left.
Walz, a 60-year-old Midwesterner with a folksy demeanor from a state quite different from Harris’s California or the East Coast, fits this description. He also appeals to progressives, having championed policies like cannabis legalization and increased worker protections.
The duo will start their campaign immediately, embarking on an intense five-day tour through battleground states, beginning with Pennsylvania.
Having secured the Democratic nomination, Harris heads to the national convention in Chicago in two weeks with full control of her party.
Harris’s journey has been remarkable. She entered the race last month when President Joe Biden withdrew amid concerns over his ability to serve a second term at 81. In a campaign of just two weeks, the 59-year-old former prosecutor has shattered fundraising records, drawn large crowds, and dominated social media, erasing Trump’s lead in the polls over Biden. A recent University of Massachusetts Amherst poll shows Harris leading Trump nationally by three points, compared to Biden’s four-point deficit in January.
In swing states, Harris is neck and neck with Trump, who won in 2016 but lost to Biden in 2020.
Choosing a running mate was seen as Harris’s first major test. “It tells you about her thought process,” said Amy Walter from Cook Political Report to CBS News.
Harris and Walz will now test their campaign strategy with a nationwide tour this week from Philadelphia to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Tropical Storm Debby has delayed a stop in Georgia and possibly North Carolina.
Pennsylvania, part of the “blue wall” that secured Biden’s 2020 victory, was a key reason many expected Harris to choose Governor Josh Shapiro. Other contenders included Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Trump had been politically strong after surviving an assassination attempt and using the Republican convention to contrast his vigor with Biden’s frailty. However, with Biden’s withdrawal and Harris’s rapid start, Trump is scrambling to adjust. At a Georgia rally, Trump called Harris a “Marxist” and a “radical left freak,” predicting an “economic crash” under her leadership.
Three days earlier, Trump caused a stir by suggesting Harris had “turned Black” for political gain during a talk with Black journalists.
While Biden targeted Trump as a democracy threat, Harris’s team has adopted a sharper, more meme-friendly approach, branding Trump and his VP pick J.D. Vance as “weird.”
On Saturday, Harris’s campaign said Trump was “scared” to debate her after he canceled a scheduled debate on ABC, though he agreed to debate her on Fox News, a network that has long supported him.
