Harris Picks Minnesota’s Walz as Running Mate

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate on the Democratic ticket.

The 60-year-old Minnesota governor was picked from a short list that Harris had whittled down to Walz, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Before entering politics, Walz was a social studies teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School. Walz’s political career started when he was elected to Congress in 2006 and served six terms before becoming the state’s top executive.

As Minnesota governor, Walz has legalized marijuana, doubled down on gender transition surgeries for children, and scrapped all common-sense abortion restrictions. He also enacted harsh COVID-19 lockdowns, except when he allowed riots to consume his state after the death of George Floyd. 

Nevertheless, Walz is supposed to bring moderate, Midwestern appeal to the ticket. 

Another motivation for choosing Harris: Walz was the one who started calling the Trump ticket “weird” in an interview with MSNBC, which subsequently took off on social media.

The Trump campaign reacted with a barrage of statements and ads about Walz’s liberal record.