US Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the presidential elections later this year, calling him a champion of working families.
By picking Walz, 60, Harris, who is of both Indian and African origin, hopes to garner votes from the crucial rust belt and some key battleground states.
“I am proud to announce that I've asked Governor Tim Walz to be my running mate. One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle-class families run deep,” Harris said.
“It's personal. 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,” she said.
Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, becoming the first Indian American to win the nomination from a major political party.
She would face Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump, 78, in the general elections scheduled to be held on November 5.
According to her campaign, Harris's decision to pick Walz as her running mate will help them collectively fight for a future that strengthens democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by but to get ahead.
"It is the honour of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign. I'm all in. Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what's possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let's get this done, folks! Join us," Walz said in a post on X.
Harris and Walz will make their first joint campaign appearance at a rally with thousands of supporters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This event is the first of a five-day barnstorm to introduce the Harris-Walz ticket to voters in key battleground states.
The Harris campaign said that Walz "is a champion for working families, a retired Army National Guardsman, a former high school teacher and football coach, Member of Congress, and two-term governor where he cut taxes for working families, lowered the cost of insulin, and protected women's right to choose."
“Governor Walz has done more to help middle-class families get ahead than any other statewide leader in recent memory. That experience makes him the ideal running mate for Kamala Harris, who has taken on the big banks, led the fight for reproductive freedom, and stood with our allies against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's aggression during her time as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, and vice president,” it said.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Walz has a Bachelor's degree in social science and a Master's in educational leadership.
His selection as Harris' running mate was welcomed by the progressives.
“Walz is an effortless populist and represents the exact direction the Democratic Party needs. With Walz, Harris defied the corporate consulting class and indicated she would double down on the popular, pro-consumer, pro-worker agenda of the Biden-Harris administration,” said Stephanie Taylor, Co-Founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which works closely with the Harris campaign and White House.
“Walz has proven that he has the necessary skills and authentic populism to go on offence -- calling out the extremist and weird Trump-Vance agenda. As governor, he passed a popular economic and voting rights agenda that will appeal to working families in the Midwest and nationwide,” he said.
Meanwhile, the rival Trump Campaign described Walz as a radical leftist.
In an email to his supporters, Trump said that Walz would be the worst vice president in American history.
“He'll unleash HELL ON EARTH and open our borders to the worst criminals imaginable. He'll rubber stamp Kamla's GREEN NEW SCAM and light TRILLIONS of dollars on fire. But the real killer: he's already pulled in MILLIONS in dirty cash to buy the White House!” he alleged.
"It's no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate -- Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump Campaign press secretary.
"A two-term governor and current chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, Walz could be especially helpful in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan. He is already well known in western Wisconsin because it shares media markets with Minnesota, while Michigan has some economic and cultural similarities with the state he now governs,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York Times said that the Minnesota governor brings to the ticket Midwestern appeal and a plain-spoken way of talking about Trump.
The Washington Post said the choice of Walz creates a ticket 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 newspaper reported.
“In the brief tryout period, Walz, who is little-known on the national stage, proved to be an effective communicator on behalf of Harris, according to her allies. He landed clear, cutting criticisms of former President Donald Trump and his vice-presidential nominee JD Vance that went viral in recent weeks,” Politico reported.
A lifelong Midwesterner, Walz grew up working on his family farm. He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 17, following in his father's -- a veteran's -- footsteps.
During his 24 years of National Guard service, he specialised in heavy artillery and retired as the highest-ranking enlisted National Guard soldier in southern Minnesota.
Walz is a gun owner and supporter of the Second Amendment -- and believes that US Congress must do more to tackle gun violence in our communities.
As governor, he established universal background checks for gun purchases, the Harris campaign said.
He served as a US representative for Minnesota's First congressional district from 2007 to 2019, was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022.
For six terms, Walz represented the conservative-leaning district where he was only the second Democrat elected since 1890.
He was the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed legislation to help stem veterans' suicides.
His wife, Gwen Walz, is an advocate for education and community issues. They have two children, Hope and Gus.
A practising Lutheran Christian, he is not publicly known for significant wealth and has a moderate income based on his public service roles.
While he has no major personal scandals, his handling of issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in Minnesota has faced criticism from various political groups.
