On Tuesday, after weeks of speculation, Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
By Monday night it was reported that Harris had narrowed down the candidates to Walz and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Walz, 60, was somewhat of a dark horse candidate. His stock rose quickly after it appeared that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) was no longer in contention. Walz has been one of Harris's key attack dogs since she became the presumptive nominee, and is credited with coming up with the insult "weird" to attack Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
He may have also suggested that they both have cooties, too. Perhaps it didn't catch on.
Though he doesn't hail from a swing state, Walz is believed to be able to appeal to voters in the Rust Belt while still being a solid leftist.
In fact, Sen. Bernie Sanders threw his support behind Walz last weekend.
"I hope very much that the Vice President selects a running mate who will speak up and take on powerful corporate interests, and I think Tim Walz is somebody who could do that," Sanders said on Minnesota Public Radio.
Given the circumstances, Harris's choice of Walz isn't as surprising as it might appear. With growing fears of a recession, this is a particularly risky time to be on the Democratic Party ticket. As a governor from a solid blue state, Walz has less to lose by running with Kamala.
On the other hand, Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising star in the party known for his moderate stances, risks damaging his political future in the state if Harris loses on a national ticket. Shapiro, who hails from the important swing state of Pennsylvania, has been the favored candidate for the past two weeks. However, many on the left were not convinced he was the best running mate for Harris for a variety of reasons. In addition to his being untested on the national stage, progressives weren't happy about his past position on school vouchers or his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. Shapiro also faces serious allegations by a fellow Democrat of covering up harassment in his office as well as being involved in the cover-up of a murder.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.) took himself out of consideration last week because he wants to run for the U.S. Senate in 2026—a sign he doesn't think Kamala can win the election and doesn't want to be linked to her for that run.
Walz's "progressive" bona fides are well established, and he is popular among the far-left Democrats in the House. For example, antisemitic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) was rooting for Walz.
“I want somebody who’s really strongly pro-labor and understands labor, because this is a big part of the working-class agenda and making sure that we win working-class votes,” Jayapal said.
“I want somebody who is totally committed to the agenda that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris fought for. … And then I think it should be somebody who’s really good in some of our Midwestern states. So making sure that we win Wisconsin, Ohio — some of those places. And so that kind of brings me to — I really like Gov. Walz,” she continued. “I like the things that he’s been able to do. I like that he’s from a rural town; I like that he’s got a military background."