Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
Harris revealed on Aug. 6 that she chose Walz as her VP pick ahead of a scheduled appearance together as the official candidates of the 2024 Democrat ticket.
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris said in a statement on X. “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.”
Walz, 60, is an Army National Guard veteran and former high school teacher. He served six terms in Congress beginning in 2007 and was the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in the U.S. Congress. He was rated the seventh most bipartisan representative in the 114th Congress by the Lugar Center at Georgetown University.
Walz spearheaded a plan to provide universal free school meals, has pushed to get Minnesota on 100 percent “clean electricity” by 2040, and expanded paid leave for workers. He also worked to preserve Minnesota’s Health Care Access Fund and lowered taxes on seniors and small businesses.
“It is an honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign. I’m all in,” Walz wrote in a statement on X. “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.
The official campaign website for the new 2024 Democrat ticket boasts his experience and leadership, highlighting Walz as “a champion for America’s working families,” according to the campaign website.
Harris’s decision comes after she spent several weeks vetting candidates, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Walz.
Harris and Walz will hold their first rally together on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia, their first stop in a major campaign blitz this week. They are scheduled to visit the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada over the course of five days.
Harris last week earned more than enough votes from delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, according to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
“Just one day after we opened voting, the vice president crossed the majority threshold and will officially be our nominee next week. Folks, that is outstanding,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison announced last week during a livestream video.
Both Harris and her new VP pick will participate in a ceremonial vote when the DNC begins its convention in Chicago on Aug. 19. Harris’s running mate is scheduled to address the convention on Aug. 21, while Harris will speak on Aug. 22.
President Joe Biden endorsed Harris after he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. The president confirmed he spoke with Harris about her VP search but declined to offer further details when asked about the qualities she is looking for in a candidate.
“I’ll let her work that out,” Biden said Friday as he departed for Wilmington, Delaware, for the weekend.
Former President Donald Trump has chosen Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate. The Republican presidential nominee is scheduled this week to hold a rally on Aug. 9 and deliver remarks at a dinner in Montana. He is also set to hold a fundraiser Aug. 10 in Colorado.
Although both Trump and Harris have indicated they are interested in facing off against each other, a debate has not yet been set. A second debate between Trump and Biden was supposed to be hosted on Sept. 10 by ABC, but the status of that debate remains unclear after the president dropped out of the race. Harris has vowed to attend that scheduled debate regardless of whether Trump shows up or not.
As for his governorship, Walz has more than two years left in his term. If he resigns, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would serve out the rest of his term and become the state’s first female governor.