Foreign
KAMALA Harris has picked Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate in the US presidential election, US media have reported.
This is breaking news, stick with us as we bring you the latest updates and analysis.
Why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz
Few people had Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on their early lists of possible Kamala Harris vice-presidential picks, but US media now reports that he will be on the Democratic ticket.
The former high-school teacher and football coach won attention among Democrats for his affable style and ability to land rhetorical blows on Donald Trump without seeming too aggressive.
The “weird” label he applied to the former president and his running mate became a Democratic mantra in just a matter of days – and it is now a standard part of Harris’s stump speech.
While Minnesota isn’t a battleground state, the Harris campaign may hope that Walz has mid-western cross-border appeal in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, which will help decide this election.
Walz also has a record of enacting progressive legislation in his state while defending it in a way that moderates and independent voters can understand. In his prior job as a congressman, he was able to win in a district that has a significant number of rural and Republican voters.
The governor may not have been a household name among Democrats a few weeks ago, but sometimes the dark horse wins the race.
Progressive Democrats praise the Tim Walz pick
Progressive lawmakers and groups are praising Harris’s decision to pick Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
New York City Democrat Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez says Harris “made an excellent decision in Gov. Walz as her running mate”.
“Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people,” she said.
Ilhan Omar, a Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota, posted a picture of her with Walz, saying “Our North Star state Governor has signed universal school meals, paid family and sick leave, marijuana legalization, and protections for reproductive rights into law”.
Harris’s choice has pleased other young progressives as well, including the Gen-Z group Voters of Tomorrow, which says Walz will “continue to champion our top priorities and fight to deliver a brighter future for us when he is vice president”.
Biden: Harris-Walz ticket will be ‘powerful’ for US working people
For the first time today, we’ve heard from President Joe Biden, whose withdrawal from the race several weeks ago paved the way for Harris to become the Democrat’s nominee.
In a post on X, Biden said that Harris’ choice of Walz – who he has known for two decades – was “great”.
“The Harris-Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s middle class,” Biden’s post says. “They will be the strongest defenders of our personal freedoms and our democracy.”
“It’s time for all Democrats – and indeed all Americans – committed to freedom, democracy and American leadership in the world to really behind the Harris-Walz ticket,” the post continues.
“Every generation of Americans faces a moment where they are asked to defend American democracy. That moment is now.”
Republicans target a ‘good vibes’ VP pick
In a year where “vibes” have been all the talk – on the economy, on the presidential campaign trail, on politics in general – Kamala Harris went with the good vibes pick for her running mate.
Tim Walz has a “mid-western nice” appeal, even when he’s throwing political punches.
His background – high-school teacher, football coach, Army National Guard enlisted soldier – broadcasts “meat-and-potatoes middle America”, as does his balding, rotund, slightly dishevelled appearance.
Walz stood in sharp contrast with Harris’ other leading running mate contenders – the polished and ambitious Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, with his arrow-straight military demeanour.
Republicans are going to try to erase those early vibes and replace them with a darker picture – one of an “ultra-liberal” governor who, along with a Democratic state legislature, advanced an agenda that conservatives will say is too extreme for moderate and undecided voters.
The Trump campaign will have their work cut out for them to paint the affable Walz as a left-wing menace, however.
Harris and her new running mate will generate headlines with their cross-country tour this week. Then, in two weeks, the party will have another opportunity to dominate the political spotlight at the Democratic convention.
Walz is a personality and politics pick wrapped up in one
In my 25 years covering US politics, the only time a VP pick has made a clear difference to the final election result was in 2008 when Sarah Palin dragged down John McCain’s ticket.
Walz has strategic value: Democratic governors like him (that helps with money and campaigning), he comes from the Midwest, and his army background helps with white, rural voters.
But this appears as much a pick about personality as politics.
He is known for being cheerful and optimistic (check out his fun, quirky social media posts) and, in the end, politics is as much about people as anything.
If the two candidates get on well, that will matter – especially when times get tough on the campaign trail.
Photo Caption: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,
Culled from BBC
6th August, 2024.
C.E.
Tags:
