Kamala Harris Photo Credit: DON VONMOORE
Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, choosing a progressive policy advocate and a simple speaker from America’s heartland to win over rural, white voters.
No campaign officials responded to calls for comment. official announcement was expected Tuesday morning.
A former teacher and 60-year-old U.S. Army National Guard veteran, Walz was elected to a Republican-leaning House district in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018.
Walz has promoted free school lunches, climate change goals, middle-class tax cuts, and expanded paid leave for Minnesota workers while governor.
Walz, who represented a rural district in the U.S. House, supported gun rights and women’s reproductive rights.
Harris, daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is adding a popular Midwestern politician whose state usually votes for Democrats in presidential elections but is near to Wisconsin and Michigan, two key battlegrounds.
Walz is known for connecting with white, rural voters who have voted broadly for Harris’ Republican opponent, Donald Trump, in recent years. Such states are key to the Nov. 5 election.
Harris selected Walz over Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, who was key to winning his battleground state.
Last month, President Joe Biden canceled his re-election campaign, making Harris the Democratic Party’s standard bearer. Since then, Hillary has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and recast the race against Republican Donald Trump with party base energy.
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