Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as his running mate, seeking to strengthen the Democratic ticket in Midwestern states.
She will feature Walz in a Tuesday night rally in Philadelphia.
Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidates qualified on time last week. She officially claimed the nomination Monday at night when the DNC released the final results.
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In a Tuesday morning post on X, Walz said joining the ticket with Harris is “the honor of a lifetime.”
Her X profile details are now “Running to win this thing with @kamalaharris.”
Shapiro called Walz “an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket” who will help Harris become the 47th president.
Shapiro, who met with Harris on Sunday about the role, said he was grateful to talk about “her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.”
“As I have said repeatedly in recent 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 governor, and my work here is far from over – there is so much more I want to do 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,” said Shapiro.
David Ivory, 46, stood outside the governor’s mansion with his two children. Ivory found out Walz was selected after his wife texted him “Oh my God” from work.
He and his sons immediately got on their bikes and rode to the governor’s residence in St. Paul.
Ivory and her family are longtime admirers of Walz for his liberal background and friendly political personality.
“He has his feet on the ground. He understand. He can talk to anyone,” Ivory said. “He doesn’t seem to be above anyone. He was a teacher. He understands kids, which is very important.”
“It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris said.
Harris posted on X that she was proud to announce that she asked Walz to join her on the 2024 ticket.
State Voices launched a $3 million national campaign on Tuesday to encourage Black voters to vote based on issues that affect their everyday lives, such as rising food prices or rising rent and mortgage payments.
As part of 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 during or before the 2024 elections, for themselves and others.
They have registered more than 400,000 voters so far.
State Voices, like many voting rights advocates, is hoping for messages that transcend the top of the ticket — a looming contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“Whatever issue matters to you, vote for something. Go out in November and bring a friend and family member with you,” said Mishara Davis, the group’s director of voting issues and organizing.
The key has been reaching voters who may be completely fed up with the political space or who are eligible to vote but are not registered and therefore may not receive information about voting — especially in presidential swing states Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which are primary. areas under 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 their campaign trip to Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada starting Wednesday.
Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the NRDC Action Fund, the policy arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called Harris and Walz “the winning ticket on climate. The Harris-Walz administration will be ready, from day one, to take the strongest climate action ever and lead by example in the global fight against the existential challenge of our time.″
Walz 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 water lines across the state.
“The stakes in these elections could not be greater nor the choice clearer. Trump would bow down to billionaire oil and gas donors, reverse climate progress, and let our children pay the price. Harris is a proven leader on climate and justice, with two decades of public service on the front lines of needed progress and change. She showed us what leadership looks like and earned the chance to lead,” said Bapna.
“The National Fund for LGBTQ Action expected a strategic and bold choice as a strong addition to the ticket as vice presidential candidate,” said Sayre E. Reece, vice chair of the National Fund for LGBTQ Action Task Force, on Tuesday. fair in a statement. “In Governor Walz we achieved both.”
Reece continued: “Governor Walz has been a steadfast ally and advocate for the LGBTQ community, including supporting trans-affirming care, bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom, and gun control. As Governor, Walz signed into law a ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” putting an end to the harmful and cruel practice that cost LGBTQ people their dignity and their lives. Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota is both a ‘trans sanctuary’ and an 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.
A growing crowd of residents and reporters gathered outside Walz’s residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday morning.
Black and white SUVs periodically pulled into the driveway as spectators waited to see Walz leaving the 20-room governor’s mansion near the Mississippi River.
Boarding his campaign plane Tuesday morning in Cincinnati for a tour of swing states this week, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance did not respond to shouted questions about Harris choosing Walz as her running mate.
On Tuesday, Vance was headed to Pennsylvania, where Harris planned to debut with her new running mate later in the day.
Donald Trump sent a fundraising email calling Walz “Dangerously Liberal” and saying he would “unleash HELL ON EARTH.”
Moments after Harris’ vice presidential pick became public, the former president and Republican nominee said Walz would be the worst vice president in history, claiming the Minnesota governor would “set TRILLIONS of dollars on fire” and open borders of the USA for criminals.
“HE IS SO BAD,” the email says.
A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former Attorney General Eric Holder examined documents and conducted interviews with potential vice presidential candidates.
And Harris herself met with her three finalists on Sunday. She weighed the decision on Monday with top aides at the vice president’s residence in Washington and finalized it on Tuesday morning.
Walz emerged as the choice.
Minnesota Democratic strategist Abu Amara says Walz will be a good replacement for Harris in the upper Midwest because he represented a rural U.S. district but won statewide in a state with large metropolitan and suburban areas.
“He’s not trying to speak in poetry. He speaks practically,” said Amara. “That’s a level of accessibility for so many voters.”
“He has the ability to connect with rural, suburban and urban voters,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it “the most left-leaning passage 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 back and let Minneapolis burn.”
The campaign had previously canceled a planned stop in Savannah, Georgia, because of the weather.
But the Democratic presidential candidate will also no longer travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, according to the campaign. She was scheduled to travel to Raleigh on Thursday.
Harris is launching a tour of swing states on Tuesday night, starting in Philadelphia.
vice president Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be his running mate on Tuesday. That’s according to three people who spoke to the Associated Press.
In choosing Walz, she turns to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including comprehensive protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families. The people were not authorized to speak publicly about the selection and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
—Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long
Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen a running mate and an announcement is expected in the coming hours before the two appear together at a rally in Philadelphia, according to three people familiar with her decision.
In recent days, she has focused on a trio of potential finalists: the governor of Pennsylvania. Josh ShapiroSenator from Arizona. Marco Kelly and governor of Minnesota. Tim Walz. It was still unclear who she chose.
The people were familiar with their 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, although the exact timing is still unclear, according to a person involved in the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail the discussions that took place behind closed doors. .
—Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long
Vice President Kamala Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination Monday night — becoming the first Black woman to lead a major party ticket.
Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online voting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released shortly before midnight that 99% of Delegates who voted did so for Harris. He said he would then formally certify the vote before holding a roll call vote at the party convention later this month in Chicago.
Harris’ coronation as her party’s standard-bearer ends a tumultuous and frenetic period for Democrats, driven by President Joe Biden’s decision. disastrous performance in June debate.
As soon as Biden abruptly closed your candidacy, Harris and her team worked quickly to secure the support of the 1,976 party delegates needed to secure the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at high speed, with an Associated Press delegate search across the country, showing she secured the necessary commitments just 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.
