Progressives get victory with Harris pick of Walz for vice president

Liberal Democrats are all cheers after Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate Tuesday, hailing the decision as a victory for progressive policy ideals that will invigorate the party’s base heading into November’s elections.

Walz had built a moderate record during his 12 years representing a rural district in the U.S. House, championing a number of liberal social causes but also bucking his party on other prominent policy goals, including those related to gun reform and environmental protection.

Yet he has shifted to the left in more recent years, promoting gun restrictions and clean energy advances while winning praise from civil rights leaders for his handling of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

That transformation has not gone unnoticed. And in the wake of Walz’s ascension to vice presidential candidate, a long and growing list of progressive voices — from gun reformers and climate activists to leading labor unions and outspoken members of the liberal “squad” — wasted no time celebrating the pick as a win for the left.

The AFL-CIO lionized Walz as “a principled fighter and labor champion.” The Rev. Al Sharpton praised him as “a trusted partner.” And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Harris made “an excellent decision” in picking Walz. 

“Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people,” she wrote on the social platform X.

Walz was on a shortlist of potential VP picks that also featured Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who had come under fire from some liberals for his track record on issues as diverse as labor organizing, law enforcement and the Israel-Hamas War. With the selection of Walz, those liberals say Democrats have avoided the messy infighting that would have divided the party just as it needed to unite around the goal of defeating former President Trump. 

“[What] we saw from the beginning of this process is that Walz and Shapiro looked like equally good candidates. But as time wore on, Walz kept on piling up victories — whether it’s in speeches or on cable news or on social media — while at the same time, Shapiro kept on piling up opposition,” Amar Shergill, a leader of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, told The Hill. 

“[Walz] creates positivity wherever he goes, and that’s gold for a presidential ticket.”

Walz was not always such a darling of the left. 

First elected to Congress in 2006, he carved his own lane on Capitol Hill by breaking with fellow Democrats on certain issues that were toxic in his right-leaning, agriculture-heavy district. That included his opposition to certain environmental protections promoted by the Obama administration and a resistance to tougher restrictions on guns. As recently as 2012, the National Rifle Association (NRA) had endorsed his candidacy.

Walz’s move to Minnesota’s governor’s mansion in 2019 broadened his constituent base in the blue-leaning North Star State and altered his approach to some of those same policies. Since taking the office, he’s championed a shift to renewable energy, pushed for greater accountability in law enforcement and enacted several bills putting new restrictions on firearms.

After his promotion to the Democratic ticket was announced Tuesday, the NRA quickly issued a statement denouncing him as “a political chameleon.”

Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who served with Walz on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said Walz’s shift to the left was a natural reflection of the broader public he now serves as governor. 

“He had to be one kind of elected official when he was a member who represented a really tough district — a plus-1 Republican district, which hasn’t been won by a Democratic since he left. And there was a difference between that and governing the whole state of Minnesota in a more progressive way,” Takano said Tuesday, pointing also to Walz’s adoption of family-friendly programs such as child tax credits and child care benefits. 

“His attention is on the right things, and that’s what I think has progressives all excited about him.”

Harris’s decision came after weeks of vetting potential candidates, including Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), who were among the very last finalists. At least part of the liberals’ exuberant response reflects not only their support for Walz’s policy agenda, but also their relief that the others didn’t make the cut.

Shapiro, in particular, had been scrutinized by progressives in recent weeks for controversial statements he’d made in the past related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Shapiro’s allies denounced those attacks, saying he was being treated unfairly because he was the only Jewish figure on Harris’s shortlist. But the progressive criticisms were more broad than that, to include Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) concerns about Shapiro’s clemency policies and union anger over his support for school voucher programs.

With the Walz pick, many liberals said they felt heard. 

“[It] shows that she is serious about keeping the big tent together on this,” said Angelo Greco, a progressive Democratic strategist who worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. 

“Some progressives are surprised … and it’s an olive branch,” he said. “I want to be a skeptic, but I’m finding it hard.”  

Another Democratic strategist who has worked with progressive and moderate candidates said Harris made the right calculation, given the historic nature of her campaign.

“Old or boring white men for transcendental candidates is a trend. Obama, Clinton, and Harris,” said the strategist. 

“It’s not an issue. Just reality.“

Takano had a different assessment, saying Walz’s unique ability to appeal to voters of all stripes — and to communicate his message effectively — was more important than securing any one battleground state.

“I think Vice President Harris is sending a big signal that her campaign for the presidency is not just about one swing state — that it’s about appealing to a much broader audience in the country. And that she senses the broad appeal that Tim has,” he said.

Republicans wasted no time bashing the newly finalized Democratic ticket Tuesday, saying Harris and Walz are both far too liberal to appeal to moderate voters. 

“It makes it easier for us,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Hill on Tuesday. “He is a far-left candidate and choice. I frankly thought that she might try to choose a moderate, but obviously she has proven once again who she is.”

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was the Democratic leader for all of Walz’s 12 years on Capitol Hill, dismissed those criticisms, citing Walz’s centrist track record over that tenure. 

“To characterize him as left is so unreal,” she told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday. “He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland of America Democrat.”

Caroline Vakil and Mychael Schnell contributed.