DEMOCRATS HAVE A NEW TICKET to rally around only 16 days after President Biden stepped aside.
Vice President Harris’s selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) sets up a showdown for the White House against former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R).
Democrats are thrilled with the Walz selection, viewing him as an affable executive who can speak to Midwest and Rust Belt voters that have drifted toward Republicans in the Trump era.
The Harris campaign raised more than $10 million after the announcement.
- Walz attended state schools in Nebraska and Minnesota.
- He was a public school teacher and football coach.
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He enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17.
- He flipped a GOP-held seat in 2006 and served 12 years in Congress, where he became chairman of the powerful Veterans Affairs Committee. He also served on the House Agriculture Committee.
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He has a plain-spoken Midwest style, and he’s good on TV.
Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told The Evening Report in an email:
“Winning tickets need to offer two things, inspiration and comfortability. Harris inspires and Walz is your next door neighbor.”
Democrats from all corners of the party rallied behind Walz, from progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to centrist independent Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.). Even former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), the anti-Trump Republican running for Senate, praised the pick.
But progressives in particular feel like they got their man.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) backed Walz leading up to Harris’s announcement, and United Automobile Workers president Shawn Fain said the union preferred either Walz or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
The big question: What does Walz mean for the ticket?
Vice presidents don’t typically mean much from an electoral perspective, but the Harris campaign hopes Walz will balance out Vance’s appeal in the Midwest and Rust Belt.
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Walz comes from a traditionally blue state that Trump has sought to turn red. No Republican has won in Minnesota in more than 50 years, though the polls had tightened when Biden was in the race.
- Walz won reelection for governor of Minnesota with 52 percent of the vote.
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A new NBC survey found that 71 percent of respondents had never heard of Walz, so the race is on to define him.
CNN election analyst Harry Enten said Walz doesn’t move the needle either way — there are “zero signs he helps electorally” and “zero signs he hurts electorally.”
NBC election analyst Steve Kornacki questioned Walz’s Midwest appeal:
“The idea that he’s got this automatic appeal with these small town areas … you don’t see it in what he actually did on the ballot.”
Kornacki pointed to Walz’s recent election history:
- All Democratic governors in 2022 outperformed Biden’s 2020 numbers in their home states, but Walz did so by the smallest margin.
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Walz didn’t move the needle in the Minnesota counties that have swung the most toward Trump in recent years.
MEANWHILE …
Republicans are licking their chops, believing Harris erred in picking a running mate that can easily be tied to the left flank of the Democratic Party.
Walz had a moderate voting record in Congress, voting toward the center of the Democratic median, according to data compiled by VoteView.
- Walz was one of 17 Democrats who voted to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing a subpoena pertaining to the “Fast and Furious” program. Holder led Harris’s search for a running mate.
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Walz was one of 19 Democrats to back the GOP version of a bill extending the Bush tax cuts in 2012.
But Republicans believe Walz’s tenure as governor has been something else entirely.
They’re coming out swinging at Walz over the Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis in 2020 that ended in the third precinct’s police station being burned to the ground.
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The Minnesota National Guard said it was late in receiving directions on how to respond to the unrest. Walz later called the response an “abject failure.”
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Harris promoted a bail fund for those arrested in the protests.
Vance, who is shadowing Harris and Walz across the battlegrounds this week, attacked the Democratic ticket from Philadelphia.
“They make an interesting tag team because Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.”
→ Read more: Vance called Walz to offer congratulations on VP pick ←
The Republican National Committee has been circulating a video of Walz saying Democrats must never “shy away from our progressive values.” He said that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”
Republicans also said they’d hone in on:
- Minnesota’s COVID lockdowns
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Bills Walz signed to make undocumented immigrants eligible for Minnesota driver’s licenses
- Minnesota’s law allowing abortions until 24 weeks
Harris has sought to moderate from her liberal positions taken during the 2020 primary.
But Republican strategist Matt Wolking told The Evening Report that Walz is a “big gift” and will serve as a “goldmine” for opposition research.
“Harris just saddled herself with a running mate that confirms she isn’t walking away from those positions at all. The Democrat candidates for president and vice president are on camera describing themselves as radical, woke socialists. If Trump exercises some discipline and focus, he can run on making America normal and competent again.”
Harris and Walz are about to take the stage in Philadelphia, before embarking on trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Follow along live here.
Planned trips to North Carolina and Georgia may be postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby.
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