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Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate, betting that he can appeal to working-class voters in swing states to deliver a Democratic victory in November’s presidential election.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Walz was selected ahead of other top contenders including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Walz, 60, is expected to appear with Harris at a campaign rally in Philadelphia this evening, before going to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Detroit, Savannah, Raleigh and western Wisconsin.
Walz is serving his second gubernatorial term after being first elected to the office in 2018. He has the potential to appeal to moderate, working-class and rural voters who could put Harris over the top in battleground states.
Born in rural Nebraska, he taught high school social studies and married a fellow teacher before entering politics, and also served in the National Guard. Despite his appeal as a moderate, he was the favourite among progressive Democrats to be Harris’s running mate.
In recent weeks, Walz has emerged as a more prominent national political figure, especially in his attacks against Trump’s vice-presidential nominee JD Vance.
Before becoming governor of Minnesota, Walz served in the US House of Representatives, representing a largely rural district. His connection with rural voters in the Midwest could help peel them away from Trump in November.
The governor could also help defend Harris — who was raised by academics in the San Francisco Bay Area — against Republican accusations that she is a member of the coastal elite.
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