By Andrea Shalal, Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her working mate on Tuesday, selecting a plain speaker from America’s heartland to assist her take the combat to Republican rival Donald Trump.
Minnesota’s Democratic governor since 2018 and a U.S. Military Nationwide Guard veteran, Walz, 60, has been a schoolteacher, soccer coach, hunter and gun proprietor and has deep connections to rural American voters who in recent times have voted broadly for Trump – all of that are qualities that make Walz a superb companion, stated a supply near the choice course of.
Harris, 59, turned the Democratic standard-bearer after President Joe Biden, 81, ended his reelection marketing campaign below occasion stress final month. She has since raised a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} and recast the race towards Trump with a lift of vitality from her occasion’s base.
“Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families,” Harris informed supporters in a textual content. The supply near the choice course of cited Walz’s govt expertise as one other plus.
Walz has pushed a progressive agenda that features free college meals, objectives for tackling local weather change, tax cuts for the center class and expanded paid go away for employees.
Trump marketing campaign officers seized on the choice to color Walz as a liberal like Harris whose values they are saying are out of contact with most People.
“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,” the Trump marketing campaign stated in a press release, a reference to California, Harris’ dwelling state.
Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, is including a well-liked Midwestern politician whose dwelling state votes reliably for Democrats in presidential elections however is near Wisconsin and Michigan, two essential battleground states that might determine the election.
Walz was a relative unknown nationally till the Harris “veepstakes” heated up, however his profile has since surged. Harris selected him over fashionable Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Harris was anticipated to seem with Walz at an occasion in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Within the Nov. 5 U.S. election, they’ll face Trump, 78, and his working mate JD (NASDAQ:) Vance, who’s 40 and one other navy veteran from the Midwest.
Vance stated he known as Walz to congratulate him and left a voicemail. He additionally criticized the Democratic ticket’s method to immigration, crime and vitality when he spoke to reporters on his marketing campaign aircraft.
THE GEORGE FLOYD FACTOR
Walz has confronted criticism, notably from Republicans, over his dealing with of the protests that emerged after the Could 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of homicide.
Pictures of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of an African American, who died, uncovered deeper grievances and gave rise to protests over strained race relations within the U.S. and overseas.
Critics stated Walz was too sluggish to mobilize the forces to cease the looting, arson and violence that accompanied the protests in Minneapolis. Walz and his staff have stated they handled the problems as greatest they might, together with by deploying the Nationwide Guard.
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of Nationwide Motion Community, stated Walz had responded to requires justice for Floyd by tapping the state’s legal professional normal to guide the prosecution within the case. The police officer was convicted of homicide and sentenced to greater than 20 years in jail.
“I learned then that he was a man who will listen and do what is right by those he represents,” Sharpton stated in a press release.
WALZ ON THE ATTACK
Walz rose to prominence over the past week and a half, partly propelled by his use of “weird” to explain Trump and Vance, a catchy insult that was picked up by the Harris marketing campaign, social media and Democratic activists.
His plain-spoken criticism appeared to resonate extra with the general public than the broad-brush remarks of Trump critics who painting the Republican presidential candidate as an existential risk to democratic establishments.
Walz has additionally assailed claims by Trump and Vance of getting center class credentials.
“They keep talking about the middle class. A robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are,” Walz stated in an MSNBC interview.
Whereas Walz has supported Democratic Social gathering orthodoxy on points starting from legalized abortion and same-sex marriage to the Inexpensive Care Act, referred to as Obamacare, he additionally racked up a centrist voting report throughout his congressional profession.
Walz was elected to a Republican-leaning district within the U.S. Home of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years earlier than being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and once more in 2022.
Walz’s shift from a centrist representing a single rural district in Congress to a extra progressive politician as governor might have been in response to the calls for of voters in main cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul.
“He runs the risk of reinforcing some of the worst fears people have of Kamala Harris being a San Francisco liberal,” stated Ryan Dawkins, a political science professor at Minnesota’s Carleton Faculty.
Walz has a prepared counter-attack.
“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz stated in a July CNN interview. “So if that’s where they want to label me, I’m more than happy to take the label.”
Because the state’s prime govt, Walz mandated using face coverings in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and signed a legislation making marital rape unlawful. He presided over a number of years of funds surpluses in Minnesota on the street to his 2022 reelection.
“Walz fostered a pro-business climate, attracting substantial investment and positioning the state as a top contender for business development,” stated LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. “I’m confident that as VP, he’ll continue to protect America’s innovation power and fuel economic growth.”
