Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as VP pick

[David]

Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate, opting for a former high school teacher and Midwestern Democrat to complete a newly assembled presidential ticket, her campaign announced Tuesday.

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“One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal,” Harris said in a statement. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his own. We are going to build a great partnership. We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election.”

Walz said being chosen to join the ticket was “the honor of a lifetime.”

The choice of Walz, 60, creates a ticket that many Democrats have said would be politically beneficial. Harris, 59, who is Black and Indian American and spent much of her career in deep-blue California, chose from a list of finalists populated by White men, including Walz, who have represented more competitive swaths of the country.

The selection culminates an increasingly intensive process in recent days, as the Harris team narrowed down the prospects and various factions of the Democratic Party lobbied for their favorites. Over the weekend, Harris interviewed three finalists: Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

Compared with some of the other prospects who Harris considered as potential running mates, Walz is less well-known and has faced less scrutiny on the national stage.
(source: washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/06/harris-walz-vp, 2024-08-06)