On Tuesday, Democrats reacted quickly and endorsed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the vice presidential running mate of their presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Party leaders, including President Joe Biden, and figures across the Democratic political spectrum – from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, popular with progressives, to independent U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginian who left the party earlier this year – praised Walz’s performance and character.
Republicans largely dismissed Walz as too liberal and said the election showed that Harris had no interest in appealing to voters in the ideological center.
While numerous statements were pouring in before noon on Tuesday, according to the White House, Walz took a call from Biden, himself a former vice president, who congratulated the Minnesota governor on his election.
“The first big decision a party candidate makes is the choice of vice president,” Biden said in a tweet“And Kamala Harris made a great decision by choosing Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an MSNBC interview Tuesday morning that Walz was “wonderful” and praised his record as the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Walz represented a swing district in southern Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019.
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement that Walz’s record in office and personal character would make him a great candidate and vice president.
“Governor Walz not only has the experience to be Vice President, he also has the values and integrity to make us proud,” the Obamas said. wrote.
Unite the party
Walz’s appeal as a vice presidential candidate rests at least in part on his image as a straight-talking Midwesterner.
In a statement, Manchin, who like Walz has won elections as a Democrat in rural, socially conservative areas in the past, emphasized the “normalcy” of the people of Minnesota.
“My friend Governor Tim Walz will bring normalcy back to the most chaotic political environment most of us have ever experienced,” Manchin wrote. “All of the candidates were strong and any of them would have been a great choice, but I can’t think of anyone better able to help bring our country closer together and restore balance to the Democratic Party than Governor Walz.”
Through his service as governor of Minnesota, Walz also appealed to the other end of the party’s ideological spectrum.
Ocasio-Cortez pointed to Walz’s support for a state law that would provide free meals to all public school students and expand reproductive rights.
“Vice President Harris has made an excellent choice in selecting Governor Walz as her running mate,” Ocasio-Cortez said said“Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively and courageously for the American people. They will not back down on narrow opportunities – from health care to school lunches.”
GOP response
Republican Party leaders, including Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates, former President Donald Trump and Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance, said Walz’s record was too liberal.
In conversation with a CNN As a reporter on a campaign plane, Vance attacked Walz’s response to the unrest following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020. He pointed to, among other things, a 2020 tweet by Harris in which she advocated for a bail fund for protesters arrested in the aftermath.
“They make an interesting tag team because, of course, in the summer of 2020, Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis,” Walz said. “And then Kamala Harris helped the few who were caught get out of jail on bail.”
At the request of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Walz provided The Minnesota National Guard helped to end the unrest following Floyd’s killing, but extensive damage continued.
The Trump-Vance campaign team released its first ad calling Harris and Walz “dangerously liberal.”
“Kamala Harris just doubled down on her radical vision for America by nominating another left-wing extremist as her vice presidential running mate,” the ad begins.
loser
Other Democrats who were on Harris’ shortlist for the vice presidential nomination congratulated Walz and signaled their support for his candidacy.
“Vice President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support – and I know Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the slate that will help Kamala move our country forward,” said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. said as part of a long written statement.
Shapiro, whose office announced Monday evening that he is scheduled to appear at Tuesday night’s rally in Philadelphia, which will be Walz’s first official campaign appearance, is expected to be the runner-up behind Walz.
U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, another finalist whom Harris interviewed in Washington on Sunday, praised Walz’s performance as governor and in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a colleague of Kelly’s wife, Gabby Giffords.
“Tim has years of experience representing Minnesota both in the House of Representatives, where he served with Gabby, and as Governor of Minnesota,” Kelly wrote in an email to supporters, later tweeted from a spokesman. “He has consistently championed working families and I know he will continue that work in the White House.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, another possible candidate, said he was honored to have been taken into account.
In a post to X, he called Walz “a great friend and a great choice.”
“I fully support this new candidacy and will work to elect Kamala Harris as our next President of the United States,” he wrote.
Climate, Worker Groups
Several unions and climate change advocacy groups immediately and enthusiastically supported Walz’s selection.
United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain said in a statement that the union, which is crucial for Democrats in the key swing state of Michigan, would work to elect Harris and Walz.
“Tim Walz has been a great governor and will be a great vice president,” Fain said. “He has stood with the working class every step of the way and has followed his words with actions, including at a UAW picket line last fall.”
Fain said in a CBS interview on Sunday that Walz and Beshear were his two favorites for the job.
David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers International, said Tuesday that Walz, who was a union member as a public school teacher, was a champion of the working class.
“Vice President Harris could not have picked a stronger representative of workers as her running mate, and the USW applauds her decision,” McCall wrote. “From his many years in Congress to his time as Governor of Minnesota, Governor Walz has fought for the rights of working families at every turn. As a former union leader, he pushed through some of the most significant pro-worker reforms in our country’s history.”
Davie Kieve, president of EDF Action, the policy arm of the Environmental Defense Fund, called Walz a “proven leader and champion for climate action.”
Although Walz, like Harris, turns 60 on Election Day, he has been endorsed by groups representing juvenile voters.
Sunrise Movement, a far-left, youth-led climate group that had kept the Biden administration at arm’s length, endorsed Walz in a statement from communications director Stevie O’Hanlon, calling Walz “an excellent choice” and highlighting Walz’s work in passing a law that would move Minnesota to 100% tidy energy by 2040.
“As governor, Tim Walz has made great strides in addressing the climate crisis,” O’Hanlon wrote. “He has done so by touting climate action as a way to improve people’s everyday lives, create good-paying green jobs, and invest in strengthening communities. That’s a compelling message, and Democrats should put it at the top of their agenda.”
A group that supported Walz when he represented his rural district in the U.S. House of Representatives criticized the selection.
In a tweet, the National Rifle Association said Walz would be “a disaster for our right to bear arms.”
“Tim Walz is a political chameleon – he changes his positions to advance his own political agenda,” Randy Kozuch, chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund, the group’s political action committee, said in a statement.
The NRA gave Walz, who professes his love of hunting, an “A” rating when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. But during his gubernatorial campaign in 2018, after the shooting at Parkland High School in Florida in February, Walz began supporting stricter gun laws. As governor, he has signed several gun control bills.
Members of the House of Representatives
Members and former members of the House Democratic Caucus heaped praise on their former colleague.
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke described Walz as a great friend and influential lawmaker with policy understandings.
“I met Tim Walz on my first day in Congress and sat next to him on the Veterans Affairs Committee for the next six years,” O’Rourke wrote. on X“Nobody fought harder for veterans. And he did it by bringing Democrats and Republicans together to get the job done.”
Former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Walz was an “invaluable” member of the caucus.
“Governor Walz’s work ethic helped him be a pragmatic, effective leader in the House,” Hoyer wrote in a statement. “His blunt, common-sense approach to governing enabled him to care for veterans and Minnesotans. I know he will bring that same dedication and empathy to the office of Vice President.”
