Kamala Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate
Harris interviewed several top contenders in Washington DC over the weekend and reportedly had not made up her mind until earlier today.
Kamala Harris has picked Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate in the US presidential election, US media have reported.
Walz, the Minnesota Governor and a former high school teacher, will become vice-president if Harris beats Donald Trump in November.
Harris interviewed several top contenders in Washington DC over the weekend and reportedly had not made up her mind until earlier today.
The announcement comes as Harris begins a tour of key battleground states, starting with a rally in Philadelphia later today where Harris will officially introduce Walz as her running mate.
Walz is a battle-tested Democrat who served 12 years in Congress before becoming Minnesota governor in 2018.
He has gained national attention for his strategy calling Donald Trump and JD Vance "weird".
The phrase caught on with a number of Democrats - including Kamala Harris.
"He's just a strange, weird dude," Walz said of Trump during a fundraising event.
His plainspoken and small-town Midwestern persona could appeal to independent and conservative voters.
The 60-year-old led Minnesota through the 2020 protests over George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.
He deployed the National Guard to help quell riots that broke out during the demonstrations.
Mr Walz served more than 20 years in the Army National Guard, taught high school and also worked as an assistant football coach.
Minnesota is arguably less of a swing state, but would be a valuable asset for Harris.
The former high-school teacher and football coach won attention among Democrats for his affable style and ability to land rhetorical blows on Donald Trump without seeming too aggressive.
The “weird” label he applied to the former president and his running mate became a Democratic mantra in just a matter of days - and it is now a standard part of Harris’s stump speech.
While Minnesota isn’t a battleground state, the Harris campaign may hope that Walz has mid-western cross-border appeal in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, which will help decide this election.
Walz also has a record of enacting progressive legislation in his state while defending it in a way that moderates and independent voters can understand. In his prior job as a congressman, he was able to win in a district that has a significant number of rural and Republican voters.
The governor may not have been a household name among Democrats a few weeks ago, but sometimes the dark horse wins the race.
