The Latest: Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate

Aug 6, 2024 9:45 AM - 1990 words

By The Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, looking to strengthen the Democratic ticket in Midwestern states.

She will introduce Walz at a rally Tuesday evening in Philadelphia.

Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a deadline last week. She officially claimed the nomination Monday night when the DNC released final results.

Follow the AP’s Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the Latest:

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Walz

Shapiro called Walz “an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket” who’ll help Harris become the 47th president.

Shapiro, who met with Harris on Sunday about the job, said he was grateful to talk about “her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.”

“As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the vice president – and it was also a deeply personal decision for me. Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their governor, and my work here is far from finished – there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this commonwealth,” Shapiro said in a statement.

He said he considers Walz a good friend and pledged to travel the state over the next three months to help Democrats defeat former President Donald Trump “and build a better future for our country.”

“Vice President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support – and I know that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward,” Shapiro said.

At the Governor’s mansion, a Minnesota resident says why he likes Walz

David Ivory, 46, stood outside the Governor’s mansion with his two children. Ivory found out Walz was selected after his wife texted him “OMG” from work.

He and his kids immediately hopped on their bikes and rode to the Governor’s residence in St. Paul.

Ivory and his family are longtime admirers of Walz for his liberal record and amiable political persona.

“He’s just down to earth. He gets it. He can talk to anybody,” Ivory said. “He doesn’t seem like he’s above anybody. He was teacher. He understands kids, which is very important.”

Harris says her new running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ‘delivered for working families’

“It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris said.

Harris posted on X that she was proud to announce she asked Walz to join her on the 2024 ticket.

Voter Coalition Pushes Issue-Based Outreach Strategy to Increase Registration, Shifting from Top of Ticket Politics

State Voices launched a $3 million nationwide campaign Tuesday to encourage voters of color to vote based on the issues that affect their day-to-day lives, like grocery price spikes or growing rent and mortgage payments.

Under the Vote for Something campaign, the coalition aims to register 800,000 voters, make more than 250 million voter contacts, and encourage 100,000 people to make a plan to vote on or ahead of the 2024 election for themselves and others.

They’ve registered more than 400,000 voters so far.

State Voices, like many voting rights advocates, hopes for messaging that transcends the top of the ticket — a looming match between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

“Whatever the issue is that matters to you, vote for something. Get out this November and bring a friend and a family member with you,” said Mishara Davis, the group’s director of issue and electoral organizing.

The key has been reaching voters who may be tired of the political space altogether or who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered and therefore may not receive voting information — especially in presidential swing states, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which are primary areas under the campaign.

This comes as Harris, who is in Pennsylvania this week, has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, sources say. The pair will continue the campaign tour to Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada starting Wednesday.

Environmental group cheers selection of Walz as the Democratic vice presidential candidate

Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the NRDC Action Fund, the political arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called Harris and Walz “the winning ticket on climate. The Harris-Walz administration will be ready, on day one, to build on the strongest climate action ever and lead by example in the global fight against the existential challenge of our time.″

Walz has made Minnesota a national climate leader, Bapna said. Under his leadership, the state committed to 100% clean energy by 2040, and Minnesota was the first Midwestern state to adopt California’s strict tailpipe emissions standards. Walz also signed a bill last year directing $240 million to replace lead service water lines statewide.

“The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher nor the choice more clear. Trump would bow to billionaire oil and gas donors, slam climate progress into reverse and leave our kids to pay the price. Harris is a proven climate and justice leader with two decades of public service on the front lines of needed progress and change. She’s shown us what leadership looks like, and she’s earned the chance to lead,” Bapna said.

The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund praises Walz’s selection

“The National LGBTQ Action Fund expected a strategic and bold choice as a strong addition to the ticket as a Vice-Presidential candidate,” Sayre E. Reece, vice president of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, said Tuesday in a statement. “In Governor Walz we have gotten both.”

Reece continued: “Governor Walz has been a steadfast ally and advocate for the LGBTQ community, including support for trans affirming care, bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom and gun control. As Governor, Walz signed a ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ into law, ending the harmful and cruel practice that has cost LGBTQ people their dignity and their lives. Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota is both a ‘trans sanctuary’ and immigration sanctuary state.”

The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund describes itself as lobbying for legislation and ballot initiatives that “achieve justice” for LGBTQ people.

At Walz’s residence in Minnesota

A growing crowd of residents and news reporters gathered outside Walz’s residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday morning.

Black and white SUVs periodically pulled into the driveway as onlookers waited to catch a glimpse of Walz leaving the 20-room governor’s mansion near the Mississippi River.

No immediate comment from Vance on Harris picking Walz as her running mate

Boarding his campaign plane Tuesday morning in Cincinnati for a swing through battleground states this week, Ohio Sen. JD Vance did not answer shouted questions about Harris picking Walz as her running mate.

On Tuesday, Vance was heading to Pennsylvania, where Harris planned to debut with her new running mate later in the day.

Trump attacks Walz in a fundraising email

Donald Trump sent a fundraising email calling Walz “Dangerously Liberal” and saying he would “unleash HELL ON EARTH.”

Moments after Harris’ VP pick became public, the former president and Republican nominee said Walz would be the worst vice president in history, claiming the Minnesota governor would “light TRILLIONS of dollars on fire” and open U.S. borders to criminals.

“HE’S THAT BAD,” the email says.

The selection process that led Harris to pick Walz as her running mate

A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former attorney general Eric Holder pored over documents and conducted interviews with potential vice presidential selections.

And Harris herself met with her three finalists on Sunday. She mulled the decision over Monday with top aides at the vice president’s residence in Washington and finalized it Tuesday morning.

Walz emerged as the choice.

A Minnesota Democratic strategist praises Walz’s ability to connect with voters

Minnesota Democratic strategist Abu Amara says Walz will be a good surrogate for Harris across the upper Midwest, because he represented a rural U.S. House district but won statewide in a state with large metropolitan and suburban areas.

“He’s not trying to speak in poetry. He speaks in practicality,” Amara said. “That’s a level of accessibility for so many voters.”

“He has the ability to connect with rural, suburban and urban voters,” he said.

Some Republicans are already reacting to the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Harris’ VP pick

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it the “most left-wing ticket in American history” and accused Walz of not doing enough to protect Minnesota during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd.

He said “Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.”

Tropical Storm Debby continues to upend Harris’ travel plans this week

The campaign had already pulled down a planned stop in Savannah, Georgia, because of the weather.

But the Democratic presidential nominee will now no longer travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, either, according to the campaign. She was set to travel to Raleigh on Thursday.

Harris is launching a tour of battleground states on Tuesday evening, starting in Philadelphia.

Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate, AP sources say

Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday. That’s according to three people who spoke to The Associated Press.

In choosing Walz, she’s turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families. The people were not authorized to speak publicly about the choice and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

— Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long

Sources say Harris has decided on a running mate

Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on a running mate and an announcement is expected in the coming hours before the two appear together at a Philadelphia rally, according to three people familiar with her decision.

In recent days, she has zeroed in on a trio of potential finalists: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. It wasn’t clear yet who she picked.

The people were familiar with her plans but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been publicly announced.

Harris’ campaign planned to make the announcement via video message before the rally, though the exact timing remained unclear, according to a person involved in the planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail discussions occurring behind closed doors.

— Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long

Harris formally secures the Democratic presidential nomination

Vice President Kamala Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination late Monday — becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket.

Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.

Harris’ coronation as her party’s standard-bearer caps a tumultuous and frenetic period for Democrats prompted by President Joe Biden’s disastrous June debate performance.

As soon as Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.