by Carl P. Leubsdorf
The first rule in vice presidential selection is “do no harm,” but it’s equally important to broaden a ticket’s appeal to help it win.
It is easy to see how Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz fits those criteria as Kamala Harris’ running mate. A veteran of 18 years in elective office with a liberal record, he attracted little internal Democratic Party opposition and strong progressive support.
But the rural Nebraska native is no limousine liberal, and he provides a stylistic contrast with Harris, if not an ideological one.
And the potential breadth of his appeal in the rural areas of key Midwest states — as well as his personal chemistry with Harris — may explain why she chose him over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who could have helped carry that singular electoral prize. “He doesn’t bring a state, but he does bring a state of mind,” veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod said on CNN.
Time will tell if Harris made a mistake, but it’s possible the orthodox Jewish governor might have become a lightning rod for the party’s Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
The Harris-Walz ticket made a strong debut at a rousing, joyous rally Tuesday night in Philadelphia, but the real tests will come in the few times Walz has the campaign spotlight: his upcoming convention speech and any debate with his Republican rival, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — plus the ultimate election outcome.
Initial reaction to the choice reflected the campaign’s ideological divide. Democratic nominee Harris stressed “his convictions on fighting for middle class families,” and an accompanying statement said, as governor, “he cut taxes for working families, lowered the price of insulin and protected women’s right to choose.”
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign called Walz “a dangerously liberal extremist,” while Vance said the choice, “just highlights how radical Kamala Harris is.”
Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz grew up in Valentine and Butte, two small rural communities. He joined the National Guard at age 17, serving for 24 years as a non-commissioned officer, and spent a year teaching in China before attending and graduating from Chadron State College. He became a high school social studies teacher and football coach at Mankato in southern Minnesota — his wife’s hometown — and they organized summer student trips to China. He started the school’s first gay-straight alliance, and, as governor, signed an executive order protecting gender-affirming care.
In 2006, at 42, he entered politics and won a House seat from his largely rural, Republican-leaning district, winning the governorship in 2018. A gun owner and pheasant hunter, he signed a law as governor for universal background checks for gun purchasers. He sent in the National Guard to quell riots in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death, belatedly according to critics.
His background contrasts sharply with Harris’, an urban, coastal Democrat and career politician, who was born in Oakland, California, attended college in Washington and entered politics in California at an early age. Though Shapiro is regarded as more moderate, he lacks that contrast, having grown up in the Philadelphia suburbs before winning a series of state offices. His selection also would have meant a Democratic ticket, including spouses, of a Black woman and three Jews, including Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff.
Both Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, the third aspirant Harris interviewed Sunday, faced some opposition from the party’s powerful labor unions: Shapiro because he supports school choice and Kelly for opposing until recently legislation to make union organizing easier. Some party progressives openly backed Walz and opposed Shapiro.
Harris’ decision not to buck them raises the question of whether she will prove too prone to yield to political pressures. But one of her goals was to ensure party unity, and the Walz nomination did so, attracting strong supporting statements across the spectrum, from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the left to West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on the right.
“I can think of no one better than Governor Walz to help bring our country closer together and bring balance back to the Democratic Party,” Manchin said.
Walz brings strong political skills to the forthcoming campaign. He already gave fellow Democrats what has become one of their favorite campaign attack lines by referring to the GOP team of Donald Trump and Vance as “weird as hell” for some of their campaign positions and statements.
He should make a worthy debate opponent for Vance, assuming there is a vice presidential debate as in most recent elections, having gained debating experience in the House and during his two races for governor.
Walz will likely spend much of the campaign in the rural areas and smaller cities of the key “Rust Belt” battlegrounds — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. His mission will be to help hold down their normal Republican majorities, as well as win his traditionally Democratic home state. Trump and Vance have expressed hope that they can carry Minnesota, but Walz’s presence on the Democratic ticket probably puts it out of reach for them.
But his selection is unlikely to have the kind of direct political impact that Shapiro might have had in one crucial state — Pennsylvania. Election Day will tell us if Harris blew the election by failing to pick the Pennsylvania governor or, as is more usually the case, made a vice presidential pick who had little direct impact on the result.
