Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Aug. 6 that she has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, looking to strengthen the Democratic ticket in Midwestern states.
She introduced Walz at a rally in Philadelphia Tuesday evening.
Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a deadline last week. She officially claimed the nomination Monday night when the DNC released final results.
Here is the latest:
Walz Wraps His Remarks
Saying “God bless America,” Walz pivoted amid the applause to wrap his arms around Harris in a bear hug.
The two clasped hands as Harris grinned and, with her other hand, pointed at Walz to the cheering audience.
Their spouses joined them on stage for waves and applause before the new Democratic ticket stepped off the stage and to the edge of the crowd for photographs and handshakes with voters in the Temple University auditorium.
Walz Takes the Stage
Walz began his remarks by thanking Harris for selecting him. The campaigner known as being upbeat said, “Thank you for bringing back the joy!”
Following a shoutout to Gov. Josh Shapiro, Walz praised his wife, a 29-year public school teacher, wryly plugging a key constituency, “Don’t ever underestimate teachers.”
Harris Campaign Rakes in Over $20 Million
Harris’ selection of Walz as her running mate has been another fundraising boon for the Democratic presidential ticket.
Her campaign announced shortly before 6:30 p.m. that it had raised more than $20 million since the vice president unveiled the Minnesota governor as her running mate.
The Harris campaign has seen a surge in fundraising since she took over the top of the ticket, raising more than $310 million in July. Well over $200 million of that total came after Harris took over top billing from President Joe Biden on July 21.
Walz Certified by DNC
As Walz took the stage with Harris in Philadelphia, his status as Democrat’s No. 2 for the general election was announced as official.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Minyon Moore, chair of Democrats’ upcoming convention, said in a statement that Harris and Walz had been certified as their party’s nominees.
Late Monday night, Harris officially secured the delegates needed to become her party’s presidential nominee. Hours later, she named Walz as her running mate.
Harris and Walz Take the Stage
Vice President Kamala Harris has made her first appearance with her newly chosen running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Harris and Walz have taken the stage together at a packed rally in Philadelphia. The pair ignited sustained cheers as they appeared before thousands at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.
Walz, the 60-year-old governor and former U.S. House member from rural south central Minnesota, put his hands together and bowed to the crowd. He stood alongside Harris as she waved to the audience and put her hand over her heart, wrapping the other around Walz.
According to excerpts provided by the campaign, Walz plans to use his speech to say that Minnesota values are American values.
Trump to Sit for Interview With Elon Musk
Trump says that he will do an interview with billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk next week. Musk endorsed the Republican for president after Trump survived an assassination attempt.
“ON MONDAY NIGHT I’LL BE DOING A MAJOR INTERVIEW WITH ELON MUSK—Details to follow!” Trump posted on his social media network.
His campaign did not immediately have more details to share.
Trump, a longtime opponent of electric cars, said over the weekend at his rally in Atlanta that he favors electric cars “for a small slice” of the population, saying, “I have to be, you know, because Elon endorsed me very strongly.” He added: “So I have no choice.”
Beshear: Walz Is Good pick for Harris’s Running Mate
Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear said it was “a true honor of a lifetime” to be considered for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate and that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was a good pick.
“He is a great friend,” Beshear told reporters outside his office in the Kentucky Capitol on Tuesday afternoon. “He’d be an amazing vice president. I am 100 percent onboard with doing everything I can to elect the Harris–Walz ticket this November.”
Beshear declined to comment on the process—when he was interviewed for the job and if he heard from Harris or her team Tuesday morning.
Man Who Owned Rights to HarrisWalz.com Says He’s Sold the Domain
Jeremy Green Eche, the trademark lawyer who purchased HarrisWalz.com for $8.99 in 2020, sold the domain—and a slate of others linked to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris—On Tuesday for $15,000, he told The Associated Press shortly after the order was made.
Eche declined to say who bought the domains, but said they have “no obvious connection to either campaign or anything political.”
Harris selected Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday.
Eche bought the rights to the site and others in 2020 when the would-be vice president was in the midst of a primary campaign for president. When he learned Walz was the pick, Eche was particularly excited, both because the Harris supporter liked Walz best out of the men the vice president was considering, and because it meant someone paying his $15,000 asking price was more likely.
Now that the site was sold, however, Eche says he feels glad but odd.
“I feel strange,” he said, “like it happened too soon.”
The domains were sold on the website for Eche’s start-up, Communer, a forum that allows people to buy and sell domains and trademarks online. Eche said the website will now draw up a domain transfer contract between himself and the buyer.
Nancy Pelosi Welcomes Walz to the Race
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi welcomed the Minnesotan to what she called the Harris–Walz “freedom ticket.”
“In the Congress, I saw firsthand Tim Walz’s leadership, collaborative spirit, and effectiveness in bringing people together and getting the job done,” Pelosi said in a statement.
The former Democratic House speaker was pivotal in reshaping the presidential race as Biden stepped aside and she said the field of potential VP candidates “demonstrated the strength and vitality of the next generation of Democratic leadership.”
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin: ‘We’re Thrilled to See a Fellow Midwesterner at the Top of the Ticket’
It didn’t take Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) long to seize on Harris’s selection of Walz as a fundraising tool for her competitive reelection campaign.
“We’re thrilled to see a fellow Midwesterner at the top of the ticket,” Baldwin said in a fundraising email sent late Tuesday morning.
Baldwin, seeking a third term, is among several incumbent Democratic senators seeking reelection in states viewed as pivotal to the presidential campaign, and where an uptick in enthusiasm since Harris’s takeover of Joe Biden’s campaign has lifted the party’s hope of holding the seat.
Baldwin spoke at Harris’s first campaign stop as a candidate last month, an upbeat rally in suburban Milwaukee.
“Wisconsin has emerged as the tipping point state that will determine who wins the White House and which party controls the Senate,” Baldwin’s email said.
Biden carried Wisconsin in 2020 by fewer than 21,000 votes.
Vance Says He Tried to Get Walz on the Phone
The Republican told reporters aboard his campaign plane Tuesday that he called Walz earlier in the day but “I left him a voicemail, I didn’t get him.”
It’s not clear if there will be a debate between Vance and Walz.
Tim Walz Will Need to Introduce Himself to America
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will need to introduce himself to the vast majority of Americans.
An ABC News/Ipsos survey conducted before Walz was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, but after vetting began, showed that nearly 9 in 10 U.S. adults did not know enough to have an opinion about him. Among Americans with a view, opinions were split between positive and negative: 6 percent had a favorable view, and 7 percent had an unfavorable one.
Walz’s lack of a national profile as he joins Harris on the campaign trail extends to his own party. Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats also didn’t know enough to have an opinion of Walz in the ABC News/Ipsos poll. One in 10 had a favorable view of him, and just 4 percent had a negative opinion. He was an unknown figure among most Democrats across the party: those older and younger were similarly likely to not know Walz, as well as white Democrats and non-white Democrats.
Walz Says He’s ‘All In’
In a post on X, Tim Walz says “It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign.”
“I’m all in,” he wrote. “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.”
His profile details on X are now “Running to win this thing with @kamalaharris.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Walz
Shapiro called Walz “an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket” who’ll help Harris become the 47th president.
Shapiro, who met with Harris on Sunday about the job, said he was grateful to talk about “her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.”
“As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the vice president—and it was also a deeply personal decision for me. Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their governor, and my work here is far from finished—there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this commonwealth,” Shapiro said in a statement.
He said he considers Walz a good friend and pledged to travel the state over the next three months to help Democrats defeat former President Donald Trump “and build a better future for our country.”
“Vice President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support—and I know that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward,” Shapiro said.
Harris Says ‘It’s Great to Have Him on the Team’
Vice President Kamala Harris says in a post on X, “I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate.”
“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his,” She wrote, “It’s great to have him on the team. Now let’s get to work.”
Crowd Gather at Walz’s Residence in Minnesota
A growing crowd of residents and news reporters gathered outside Walz’s residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday morning.
Black and white SUVs periodically pulled into the driveway as onlookers waited to catch a glimpse of Walz leaving the 20-room governor’s mansion near the Mississippi River.
Hillary Clinton Says She’s ‘Thrilled’ About Walz Joining Ticket
Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton says she’s “thrilled to see Tim Walz join the Democratic ticket.”
“From providing free meals for schoolkids to implementing paid family leave in Minnesota, he’s about doing good in all the ways you can. He’ll be an incredible partner to our first woman president. Let’s go win this,” she wrote in a post.
No Immediate Comment From Vance on Harris Picking Walz as Her Running Mate
Boarding his campaign plane Tuesday morning in Cincinnati for a swing through battleground states this week, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) did not answer shouted questions about Harris picking Walz as her running mate.
On Tuesday, Vance was heading to Pennsylvania, where Harris planned to debut with her new running mate later in the day.
The Selection Process That Led Harris to Pick Walz as Her Running Mate
A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former attorney general Eric Holder pored over documents and conducted interviews with potential vice presidential selections.
And Harris herself met with her three finalists on Sunday. She mulled the decision over Monday with top aides at the vice president’s residence in Washington and finalized it Tuesday morning.
Walz emerged as the choice.
Harris Picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate
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.
Harris Formally Secures Democratic Presidential Nomination
Vice President Kamala Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination late Monday.
Harris’s nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99 percent of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.
Rachel Acenas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.