This blog is closing soon. You can read our full report on the Philadelphia rally here:
Here are some pictures from the rally:
Updated
The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino was as the rally in Philadelphia. Here is her report:
Kamala Harris introduced her running mate, Tim Walz as “the kind of vice-president America deserves,” at a raucous rally in Philadelphia that showcased Democratic unity and enthusiasm for the party’s Democratic presidential ticket ahead of the November election.
Casting their campaign as a “fight for the future”, Harris and Walz were repeatedly interrupted by applause and cheering as they addressed thousands of battleground-state voters wearing bracelets that twinkled red white and blue at Temple University’s Liacouras Center – a crowd her team said was its largest to date.
“Thank you for bringing back the joy,” a beaming Walz said to Harris, after she presented him to the crowd, reciting his biography as a teacher, high school football coach, military veteran, legislator and governor. Harris, who has served as vice-president to Joe Biden for three and a half years, said Walz, the Minnesota governor, would be “ready on day one”, and said the race between them and the Republican presidential ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance was a “matchup between the varsity team and the JV squad”.
Harris hopes Walz will help her shore up her campaign’s standing across the upper Midwest, a critical region in presidential politics that often serves as a buffer for Democrats seeking the White House. The party remains haunted by Trump’s wins in Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016. Trump lost those states in 2020 but has zeroed in on them as he aims to return to the presidency this year and is expanding his focus to Minnesota.
Since Walz was announced, the team raised more than $20m from grassroots donations, the campaign said.
The new rule essentially makes the certification of election results discretionary, said Democratic state representative Sam Park at a press conference outside of the hearing room at the Georgia capitol.
“These are Maga certification rules, and they’re in direct conflict with Georgia law, which states in multiple places that local elections board officials shall perform their duties, meaning their duties are mandatory, not discretionary,” Park said.
Debate on the rule centered on how much power state law and court precedent grants to the state board of elections to set rules for local boards. Georgia supreme court case law describes the role of elections supervisors as ministerial with little discretion to declare a vote valid or invalid, said Nikhel Sus, deputy chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington DC.
“It is contrary to settled Georgia law and would exceed this court’s rule making authority,” Sus said. The law requires disputes about a vote to be resolved with investigations by district attorneys, courts and other bodies, he said.
Board members in support of the rule say that local elections supervisors are required to sign an affidavit declaring that the results of an election are accurate and correct, and that rules should permit elections boards the power to determine the truth of that statement for themselves.
The rule is likely to draw an immediate legal challenge so close to an election.
New Georgia rules let local boards withhold election certification
Moving away from the rally for a moment to other important election news: Georgia’s state board of elections adopted new rules for local election boards that permit them to withhold the certification of a vote in the face of unspecified discrepancies – a Republican-led move that could cause uncertainty and confusion after future election days.
The five-person board passed the measure in a 3-2 vote. The three board members who voted for it – Dr Janice Johnson, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King – were praised by name three days ago by Donald Trump at an Atlanta campaign rally.
The rule was proposed by Michael Heekin, a Republican appointee to the Fulton election board who refused to certify the presidential primary earlier this year. The rule requires local boards to initiate a “reasonable inquiry” when discrepancies emerge at a poll, and gives the power to withhold certification until that inquiry is completed. It does not define the term “reasonable inquiry”, nor does it establish strict limitations on the breadth of an inquiry.
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Josh Shapiro, who spoke before introducing Harris and Walz at Tuesday’s rally, affirmed his support of Harris, exclaiming that she is “battle tested and ready to go”. He spoke of the danger of Trump becoming president again, citing the statement coined by Walz: “He’s a weirdo.”
Harris entered the stage shortly afterward. “Together with Josh Shapiro, we will win Pennsylvania,” she said to applause.
Cherelle Parker, Philadelphia’s mayor, also spoke in support of Harris at Tuesday’s rally. As the first Black female mayor in the city’s history, Parker acknowledged that the event was “history-making”.
“We are on the cusp of electing our vice-president Kamala Harris to be the 47th president of the United States,” Parker said as the crowd erupted. “Don’t let Trump the trickster take our eyes off the prize.”
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In the eyes of Andrew Cambron, a 34-year-old teacher from Delaware, Walz was the best option for Harris’s running mate, since he’s “the kind of guy who resonates with the center of the country”. Cambron added that he wanted to see a broader investment in public education and to see Harris get behind universal healthcare.
“We finally have a progressive on the Democratic ticket,” Cambron said about Walz, “which hasn’t really happened since Obama in 2012.” Shapiro would have been a terrible choice, said Cambron, who disagreed with Shapiro’s pro-Israel stance and his efforts to quash pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
During the presidential primaries, more than 700,000 voters cast uncommitted ballots or the equivalent to express their dissatisfaction with Joe Biden’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza. The Uncommitted National Movement has stated that it’s waiting to hear from Harris on her Gaza policies before agreeing to endorse her. But following Harris’s Tuesday announcement about Walz, the group released a statement saying that they hope he will help change course on Gaza policy.
“Governor Walz has demonstrated a remarkable ability to evolve as a public leader, uniting Democrats diverse coalition to achieve significant milestones for Minnesota families of all backgrounds,” Elianne Farhat, senior advisor at Uncommitted and executive director of Take Action Minnesota, a political advocacy group, said in a statement. “As Harris’s vice-presidential pick, it’s crucial he continues this evolution by supporting an arms embargo on Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians in an effort to unite our party to defeat authoritarianism in the fall.”
Here is that couch moment:
VP Harris' face. https://t.co/Ji6WEwsqB6
— Heather Thomas (@HeatherThomasAF) August 6, 2024
The Democratic running mates have “Happy Warrior energy”, per the New York Times’ chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker:
The Happy Warrior energy of the Harris-Walz rally just now is something we haven't seen in American politics for a while. Feels reminiscent of Clinton-Gore '92. Doesn't mean they win; plenty of Happy Warriors lose. But it's a vastly different dynamic than just a few weeks ago.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 6, 2024
The Washington Post columnist James Hohmann points out that Walz has personal experience with the, at times, astronomically expensive US healthcare system:
For Tim Walz, access to health care is personal. pic.twitter.com/f43TMtfF7g
— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) August 6, 2024
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Summary
Here is a summary of Harris and Walz’s speeches at the rally:
In her first appearance with her newly minted running mate, Harris sought to define him foremost as a teacher and football coach. He was, she said, “the kind of teacher and mentor that every child in America dreams of having”. She told a story about him agreeing to be faculty adviser to his school’s gay-straight alliance, knowing “the signal it would send to have a football coach get involved”. He was, “the kind of coach, because he’s the kind of person, who inspires people to dream big”.
Harris also spoke about Walz’s skills as a marksman, and his views on the second amendment: he is in favour, but with caveats for background checks and red flags. Walz was the highest ranking enlisted man to ever serve in US congress and the top Democrat on the veterans’ committee, she said. He was also known as one of Capitol Hill’s best marksmen. She also used football references, comparing him and Vance to “a matchup between the varsity team and the [junior varsity] squad”.
Walz, who like Harris is known for his smile, started his speech by saying: “Thank you for the trust you put in me, but more so, thank you for bringing back the joy. “If Donald Trump and JD Vance are irritated that Kamala Harris smiles and laughs, they’re really going to be irritated by Tim Walz,” Melissa Hortman, the Democratic speaker of Minnesota’s house of representatives, told the Guardian on Tuesday. He also said: “Don’t ever underestimate teachers.” Walz’s wife, Gwen, is a teacher, too.
When Walz talked about Trump, he pivoted quickly, and effectively, from talking about Republicans interfering with healthcare, to his own daughter being born thanks to IVF, to children fearing that they will be shot at school. “In Minnesota we respect our neighbours for the personal choices they make,” he said. “That includes IVF.” He talked about his daughter Hope, who often appears in videos and photographs with her father, being born through IVF. Abortion opponents have been increasingly pushing for broader measures that would give rights and protections to embryos and fetuses, which could have huge implications for fertility treatments and other areas of healthcare. Walz said “It wasn’t by chance that, when we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope.” Then he said that when he and Harris talk about freedom, they mean the freedom to make your own choice about your body, and the freedom for children to go to school and not worry about being shot.
He called on people to “settle our political differences not with violence, but with votes” and said of Trump: “Don’t believe him when he plays dumb. He knows exactly what Project 2025 will to do restrict our freedoms.” He added of a second Trump term: “Only this time it will be much, much worse.” Walz seasoned his remarks with midwestern dialect, adding a “damn well” here and a “come on” there. “Say it with me! We are not going back,” he said, starting a chant from the audience. “We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy,” he said. “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”
Walz made a couch reference. Walz said his GOP rival and Trump “are creepy and yes, they’re weird as hell”. He added that he “can’t wait to debate the guy”. Then, to sustained cheers and laughter, he made a reference to the baseless, but much-shared, claim that JD Vance admitted to having sex with a couch in his memoir. “That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.” Stumping earlier today in Pennsylvania, Vance said, “I absolutely want to debate Tim Walz,” but not until after the Democratic convention.
Updated
Hello, this is Helen Sullivan taking you through the latest US politics news for the next while.
Harris-Walz campaign kicks off with an energetic start
At Kamala Harris’s first rally since announcing Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate, the room at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was ebullient, filled with thousands of voters cheering and waving Harris-Walz signs.
“I feel ecstatic,” said Joseph Alston, a 69-year-old West Norriton Democratic committee member. Last week, he campaigned for Harris by knocking on doors and handing out flyers in the nearby King of Prussia area. People who he spoke to said that they were committed to vote against Donald Trump. “They don’t want him anywhere near the White House,” Alston said.
Voters at the Tuesday rally were split in their opinions about Harris’s decision to pass over Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor who was on the shortlist of vice-presidential candidates. Still, they reaffirmed their vow to support Harris and to ensure that Trump isn’t elected again.
“For me, it was always going to be Harris and whoever her running mate was going to be,” said Torri Green, a 35-year-old photographer from Philadelphia. “There’s too much at stake.”
Outside of the event, Green had stood in line with thousands of people waiting to enter. If Harris is elected president, Green said she hopes that teachers will get paid more and that reproductive rights will be protected. Casting a vote for Harris in November is a no-brainer for her, she said: “I appreciate her as a person and the light that she brings.”
“I feel so good,” said Patricia Bai about supporting Harris as the Democratic nominee. The caregiver from Liberia will vote in a presidential election for the first time after recently becoming a US citizen. “If [Harris] becomes president tomorrow,” Bai said, “she will implement policies that would put us in the right place.”
Bill Haggett, a 72-year-old former health executive, said that he appreciated that Walz made school meals free for all Minnesota students, and he was curious to see if Walz’s accomplishments in Minnesota would be scalable nationwide.
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Walz’s closing message: “We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”
“We just gotta fight,” he added. “We’ve just gotta fight, because as soon-to-be-president Harris says, ‘When we fight, we win.’”
Updated
Walz also appears to be enjoying his role as Harris’s attack dog on the campaign trail.
“Donald Trump’s not fighting for you or your family,” he said. “And I gotta tell you, his running mate shares his dangerous and backward agenda for this country.”
He was especially pointed in his takedown of JD Vance.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community,” he said, adding: “I can’t wait to debate the guy – that is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
The latter is cheeky reference to a completely unsubstantiated internet joke about Vance …
Walz seemed pleased with himself. “See what I did there?”
Updated
New Walz catch phrase alert: “Mind your own damn business.”
“In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make, even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves,” he said. “There’s a golden rule, mind your own damn business.”
A few in the crowd began to chant it after him.
Touting the campaign’s intent to restore reproductive rights, Walz referenced his own family’s use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), which some Republican lawmakers have threatened to limit along with access to abortions.
“When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments, and I remember praying every night for a call with good news,” he said. When we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope.”
“When the vice president and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own health care decisions,” he said.
Updated
Tim Walz also lavished praise on his fellow Democratic governor Josh Shapiro.
Earlier, Shapiro had referenced his close friendship with Walz. Per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Julia Terruso, the two attended a Bruce Springsteen concert together.
Little background on Shapiro saying Walz is a good friend - sources familiar tell me they once attended a Springsteen concert in Jersey together.
— Julia Terruso (@JuliaTerruso) August 6, 2024
Walz confirmed this reporting.
“I’ll tell you this, I know this from experience, there is no one you would rather go to a Springsteen concert in Jersey with,” Walz said of Shapiro.
Walz commends Harris's 'joy' in first speech as part of ticket
“Thank you for bringing back the joy,” Walz said as he took the podium from Harris.
The Harris campaign said that it has raised $20m since Walz joined the ticket.
Updated
As Harris spoke, the Democratic party confirmed that Harris and Walz were certified as the nominees for president and vice-president.
“The announcement follows a transparent and democratic nominating process, during which delegates to the convention took seriously their responsibilities to cast their votes for our party’s nominee – with 99% of participating delegates supporting Kamala Harris in the virtual roll call,” the DNC noted in a statement. “The virtual roll call ensured that the Harris-Walz ticket has met all ballot access deadlines and every American will have the opportunity to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the general election.”
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Harris is really into the football references today.
Comparing Walz’s resume to that of JD Vance, Harris said, “Well some might say it’s like, a matchup between the varsity team and the JV squad.”
In a lengthy introduction, Harris is touting Walz’s many facets …
He’s a hunter, and a gun owner, who has fought for gun safety laws: “He was known as one of Capitol Hill’s best marksmen,” she said.
He’s an advocate for reproductive rights: “After Roe was overturned, he was the first governor in the country to sign a new law that enshrined reproductive freedom as a fundamental right.”
He supports voting rights: “He signed the most significant expansion of voting rights in Minnesota in over 50 years.”
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Introducing Walz, Harris touts the governor’s many roles: father, coach, congressman and sergeant major.
Walz, beaming behind her, seemed especially chuffed by her mention of his work as a football coach. Of course, there are few things as American as football (my apologies to our international readers rankled by this sentence).
“Under those Friday night lights, Coach Walz motivated his players to believe they could achieve anything, and together, they defied the odds,” said Harris, hyping up her running mate.
She noted that Coach Walz was approached by a student who wanted to start a gay-straight alliance club at school, back in the 1990s. “Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved. So he signed up as faculty adviser,” Harris said. “He made the school a safe place for everybody.”
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“Hold on, hold on,” Harris told supporters who began to chant “Lock him up”, co-opting the Maga rallying cry against Donald Trump’s rivals.
“This campaign, our campaign, is not just a fight against Donald Trump,” Harris said. “Our campaign, this campaign, is a fight for the future.”
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Harris touts her official Democratic nomination and says 'we got some work to do'
Kamala Harris – who announced to the crowd that she was now the official Democratic nominee, having earned enough votes from Democratic delegates – began by acknowledging the long journey ahead: “Now we got some work to do.”
“We are the underdogs in this race, but we have the momentum, and I know exactly what we are up against,” she said.
Updated
Harris and Walz take the stage
The duo were played on by Beyoncé’s Freedom, soaking in the roaring applause of thousands packed into the rally stadium.
“We’re doing this!” Harris beamed.
Walz had a hand on his heart.
Updated
“I am more optimistic than ever before,” Shapiro said – capturing a truly dizzying vibe shift among Democrats over the past two weeks.
In Philadelphia, Shapiro also referenced the city’s history as the birthplace of American independence.
“In Independence Hall, just a couple miles from here, nearly two and a half centuries ago,” Shapiro said, the founders declared independence from the British crown. “They came together to declare our independence from a king and we’re not going back to a king,” he said.
Updated
An riled-up crowd is now chanting “He’s a weirdo” – referencing Tim Walz’s now iconic characterizations of Donald Trump and JD Vance.
“Tim Walz, in his beautiful midwestern plainspoken way, he summed up JD Vance the best. He’s a weirdo,” Shapiro said, encouraging the crowd.
Earlier, Senator John Fetterman had referenced the same, effectively pithy insult.
“This election is about moving our country forward with Vice-President Harris and Governor Walz. Or a couple of really, really, really, really weird dudes,” Fetterman said.” “And look, I gotta tell you, I work with JD Vance … and I’m here to confirm that he is a seriously weird dude.”
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“Let me tell you about my friend Kamala Harris, someone I’ve been friends with for two decades,” Shapiro said. “She is courtroom tough. She has a big heart and she is battle tested and ready to go.”
Shapiro is speaking to a riled-up crowd. “Not going back! Not going back!” the crowd chanted, as he brought up Donald Trump’s record.
“It was more chaos, fewer jobs and less freedom,” Shapiro said.
Updated
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks ahead of Harris and Walz debut
“I love you Philly!” Shapiro began. ““I love being your governor. You all fill my heart and I love you so much.”
Shapiro was considered a frontrunner for Harris’s running mate, along with Walz.
Updated
Tim Walz to join Kamala Harris for the first time on the campaign trail in Philadelphia
The rally will mark Walz’s first official campaign appearance since Harris selected him as her running mate earlier today, and for Walz will serve as an introduction to the country.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket, and to help make Kamala Harris the next president of the United States,” he is expected to say, according to the campaign, which shared excerpts from his prepared remarks.
The Minnesota governor will share about his upbringing in Butte, Nebraska – a small town of 400 – as well as his experiences as a teacher and an elected official.
Updated
At the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, crowds are filing in for a packed rally.
Sisters Stephanie Ford, 54, and Diane Harris, 59, said they wouldn’t have believed it if someone told them one month ago they’d be at a rally to support the first Black woman to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.
Harris – no relation to the vice-president – danced excitedly. She hadn’t seen people this excited to vote since Barack Obama in 2008. “It’s hope and change and newness,” she said. Ford, who runs a coffee shop, said she saw some of her customers in line on the way in.
Both said they were hoping Harris picked their governor, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate. “I was hoping it was him,” Ford said, as her sister nodded. “But now we get to keep him for ourselves.”
Neither had heard much about the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, who Harris announced on Tuesday would be her running mate. But they both said they liked what they were learning about him, especially what he’s done to help children in the state.
“I trust her judgement,” said Harris. “It was a win-win for us.”
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Soon, Harris and Walz will appear together at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, which thousands of people are lining up to attend.
📍Philadelphia, PA
— Nidia (@NidiaCavazosTV) August 6, 2024
This is the line to get into the first Harris-Walz campaign event. There are thousands of people, the line wraps for blocks and blocks. pic.twitter.com/ASe0mwkZFW
On Instagram Live, progressive representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez said that Walz has helped unify Democrats.
“It’s really kind of nuts,” she said. “I am trying to think about the last time Senator Manchin and I, respectfully, were on the same side of an issue.”
Dems in disconcerting levels of array https://t.co/F6fmqQK8DE
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2024
Walz is hardly a leftist. But in Minnesota, progressives who’ve clashed with him on policy issues are nonetheless rooting for him, my colleague Rachel Leingang reported:
Elianne Farhat, the executive director of TakeAction MN, said she and her organization had disagreed deeply with Walz over the years, but that he was a person who will move and change his position based on feedback. He evolves.
She and others pointed to his position on guns. Walz is a gun owner and a hunter who previously received endorsements and donations from the National Rifle Association and had an A rating from the group. But he shifted: he gave donations from the group to charity after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, and he supported an assault weapons ban after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. While governor, he has signed bills into law that restrict guns. He now has an F rating from the NRA.
‘We’re not electing our saviors. We’re not electing perfect people. We’re electing people who we can make hard decisions with, we can negotiate with, and who are serious about getting things done for people. And Governor Walz has shown that pretty strongly the last couple years as governor of Minnesota,’ Farhat said.
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The Harris campaign said it has raised more than $10m from grassroots supporters since announcing Tim Walz as the vice-president’s running mate.
The campaign released a video of Harris calling Walz to ask him to be her running mate.
When I called @Tim_Walz this morning to ask him to join our campaign, I shared my deep level of respect for him and the work we've done together.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 6, 2024
We're going to unify this country and we're going to win.
Let's go get this done. pic.twitter.com/EcqZ497lyk
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Today so far
Here is where this eventful day in US politics stands so far:
The Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has selected Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, and Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, were reportedly the two finalists in Harris’s search for a running mate.
Harris and Walz will soon appear at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marking their first joint event since the running mate announcement. After the Philadelphia rally, Harris and Walz are scheduled to appear at a series of events in battleground states across the country in the coming days.
Harris said she chose Walz because of his “convictions on fighting for middle-class families”. “We are going to build a great partnership,” Harris said on Instagram. “We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”
Walz thanked Harris for “the honor of a lifetime” by choosing him. “I’m all in,” Walz said on X. “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let’s get this done, folks!”
Republicans attacked Walz as extreme, while Democrats praised him as a down-to-earth leader who can achieve change. “Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. But Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, rejected that characterization. “He’s right down the middle,” Pelosi told MSNBC. “He’s a heartland-of-America Democrat.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump will participate in a “major interview” with billionaire and X owner Elon Musk on Monday, the former president announced in a social media post. The announcement comes one week after Trump’s calamitous interview at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he questioned Kamala Harris’s race.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
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Hello from the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, where Kamala Harris will debut the freshly formed Democratic ticket later this afternoon.
The line to enter wrapped around the university for blocks, and supporters braved a downpour and some sticky summer weather to get inside.
There was plenty of excitement among the crowd. Spotted on my way in: several students wearing chartreuse-colored “Kamala is Brat” shirts. Another woman wore a shirt with the play on words “About Madam time” to celebrate the possibility of sending the first woman to the White House.
Long lines and menacing clouds to attend the @KamalaHarris campaign event in Philadelphia this afternoon pic.twitter.com/UBrbpXLHcY
— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) August 6, 2024
First sighting of the Harris-Walz banners on their first stop of a multi-day battleground state tour. pic.twitter.com/9I1SGtxZa9
— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) August 6, 2024
Trump to participate in 'major interview' with Elon Musk
Donald Trump will participate in a “major interview” with billionaire and X owner Elon Musk on Monday, the former president announced in a social media post.
“ON MONDAY NIGHT I’LL BE DOING A MAJOR INTERVIEW WITH ELON MUSK — Details to follow!” Trump wrote in a post shared to Truth Social.
The announcement comes one week after Trump’s calamitous interview at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he questioned Kamala Harris’ race.
The NABJ interview was initially supposed to be an hour long, but it ended after just 34 minutes, as the audience jeered many of Trump’s responses. He will likely face an easier audience with Musk.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, was having some fun at Republicans’ expense this afternoon, after Kamala Harris announced Tim Walz as her running mate.
Some Republicans have accused Harris of passing over Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, for the running mate spot because of his Jewish faith. If chosen, Shapiro could have become the first Jewish American to serve as vice president.
News to me https://t.co/VYCrhpfcdM
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 6, 2024
The rightwing commentator Erick Erickson said on X, “No Jews allowed at the top of the Democratic Party.”
Schumer, who is the first Jewish American to lead the Senate as majority leader, responded to Erickson by saying: “News to me.”
Democrats also note that Harris is married to a Jewish man, Doug Emhoff, who could become the first Jewish spouse of a US president if the party wins the White House in November.
Updated
Harris campaign releases new Walz video: 'We believe in the promise of America'
Kamala Harris’s campaign has released a new video introducing Tim Walz to the country, as most Americans are not yet familiar with the Minnesota governor.
The video, which is narrated by Walz, recounts his upbringing in Nebraska and his decision to join the national guard before he became a teacher and eventually a lawmaker.
The video, as well as Walz’s scheduled campaign appearances in battleground states over the coming days, will provide many Americans with their first impression of Harris’s new running mate. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that only 13% of Americans knew enough about Walz to register an opinion of him.
Growing up, I learned to be generous toward my neighbors, compromise without compromising my values, and to work for the common good.@KamalaHarris and I both believe in that common good – in that fundamental promise of America. We’re ready to fight for it. And like she says:… pic.twitter.com/5SfrDRqx7C
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 6, 2024
Here is the full transcript of the video:
Sometimes life is as much about the lessons you learn as the lessons you teach.
Where I grew up, community was a way of life.
My high school class was 24 people.
I was related to half of them.
I learned to be generous toward my neighbors, compromise without compromising my values, and to work for the common good.
My dad was in the army, and with his encouragement, I joined the army national guard when I was 17. I served for 24 years.
I used my GI benefits to go to college and become a public school teacher.
I coached football and taught social studies for 20 years.
And I tried to teach my students what small-town Nebraska taught me: respect, compromise and service to country.
And so when I went into government, that’s what I carried with me. I worked with Republicans to pass an infrastructure bill. Cut taxes for working families. Signed paid leave into law. I codified abortion rights after Roe got overturned.
Because I go to work for the common good.
But enough about me.
Let’s talk about you. Because that’s what this election is about.
It’s about your future. It’s about your family.
And Vice-President Harris knows that. She too grew up in a middle-class family. She too goes to work every day, making sure families can not just get by but get ahead.
We believe in the promise of America. In those values I learned in Nebraska. And we’re ready to fight for them.
Because as Kamala Harris says: when we fight we win.
Updated
Outside Tim Walz’s residence in St Paul, TV cameras lined the street, with reporters doing live shots to explain how their governor had been tapped as Kamala Harris’s running mate.
Earlier in the morning, some supporters gathered to send off Walz with cheers as a black SUV whisked him off to the vice-presidential campaign trail, the local CBS outlet reported.
Midday, people on their morning walks and bike rides slowed down, trying to figure out what was happening that required so many cameras. Some took photos of the house, with grins on their faces. A car drove by, honking excitedly at the people gathered.
Terryann Nash, who lives across the street from the residence, said she saw security details increasing in recent weeks and wondered what was going on. The residence Walz is staying at is not the state’s governor’s mansion, which is under construction, but a mansion that once housed the University of Minnesota’s president.
Nash, a teacher, was excited to see a fellow teacher on the ticket. “Even as a governor, he’s always come back to the schools. He’s always been in touch with the teachers. I feel like we’ve got a well-represented voice and a very good heart to send us off,” she said.
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Tim Walz won plaudits from fellow Democrats for championing a new and surprisingly effective attack line against Republicans: they’re “just weird”.
“There’s something wrong with people when they talk about freedom: freedom to be in your bedroom, freedom to be in your exam room, freedom to tell your kids what they can read,” Walz said recently on MSNBC. “That stuff is weird. They come across weird. They seem obsessed with this.”
Speaking at a Harris campaign event before he was named as her running mate, Walz told supporters, “The fascists depend on fear. The fascists depend on us going back. But we’re not afraid of weird people. We’re a little bit creeped out, but we’re not afraid.”
Other prominent Democrats, including Harris, have now embraced the attack line. Watch this video showing the many examples of Walz’s “weird” strategy:
Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, joined other members of his party in condemning Tim Walz as a “progressive running mate who has voiced support for socialism”.
“No amount of spin from the campaign or the media can distract from the objective facts and the disastrous records of Harris and Walz,” Johnson said in a statement.
“I look forward to highlighting the vast differences between the most radical leftwing ticket in American history and the America First agenda that President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance are fighting for every day.”
Democrats have rejected that characterization of Walz, with Nancy Pelosi telling MSNBC this morning: “He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland-of-America Democrat.”
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Walz en route to Philadelphia for campaign rally with Harris
Tim Walz has left his residence in St Paul to make the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he will appear alongside Kamala Harris at a campaign rally this evening.
The rally will mark Walz’s first official campaign appearance since Harris selected him as her running mate earlier today. Minnesotans gathered outside his residence to watch their governor depart.
After the Philadelphia rally, Harris and Walz are set to appear at a series of events in battleground states across the country – with stops planned in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Among the many progressive accomplishments of Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor has quite an impressive record on voting rights.
Ever since Democrats gained full control of the state legislature in 2022, Walz and his fellow Democrats have enacted virtually every reform championed by voting rights groups. This includes:
Read more about Walz’s record as governor:
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Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has picked her running mate, and it is the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz. He’s called Donald Trump and JD Vance “weird”, but will he be able to pull in enough support for Harris?
Jonathan Freedland is joined by the political commentator Molly Jong-Fast on a new episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly America podcast to discuss whether Harris made the right pick and if Republicans should be worried:
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Democrats are mocking one particular part of the Trump campaign’s statement issued in response to Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate.
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign press secretary, said in the statement: “From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide.”
Walz did indeed sign a bill last year making it easier for people with a felony conviction to vote in Minnesota. And Democrats noted that Trump himself could benefit from such a law, as he was recently convicted on 34 felony counts in New York.
One person asked on X: “Is it the Trump campaign’s position that Donald Trump should not be allowed to vote?”
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Senator Joe Manchin, an independent of West Virginia who caucuses with Democrats, offered a flattering review of Kamala Harris’s decision to tap Tim Walz as her running mate.
“My friend Governor Tim Walz will bring normality back to the most chaotic political environment that most of us have ever seen,” Manchin said in a statement.
“All of the candidates were strong and any one of them would have been a great pick, but 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. Governor Walz is the real deal. I look forward to continuing to work with him to bring normalcy back to Washington.”
The statement is noteworthy considering Manchin has previously clashed with progressive Democrats. His praise could help Democrats rebut Republicans’ claims that Walz is a “dangerously liberal extremist”.
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Labor leaders appear thrilled with Kamala Harris’s choice of running mate, praising Tim Walz as a champion of working Americans who will help the next Democratic president deliver for the middle class.
“Tim Walz has been a great governor and is going to make a great vice-president. He’s stood with the working class every step of the way, and has walked the walk, including on a UAW picket line last fall,” said Shawn Fain, president of United Auto Workers.
“We’re ready to send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House to keep delivering for the working class, and we’re excited to welcome them both to Detroit this week.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, described Walz as “an unabashed champion for families, for public education, for educators and other workers throughout his life in public service”.
“He knows the promise of public education. He shares our commitment to solving problems and forging a future in which all Americans can get ahead, not just get by,” Weingarten said.
“The AFT’s 1.8 million members will stand with Walz and Harris over the next 12 weeks as they campaign to realize the promise and potential of America. We will hit the road to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance from coast to coast and keep their extremist policies out of the White House for good. The future starts here – and we are not going back.”
Public education advocates may be breathing a sigh of relief that Harris did not choose Josh Shapiro as her running mate, considering the Pennsylvania governor’s past support for private school vouchers.
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The Trump campaign has released a new ad attacking Tim Walz as a “leftwing extremist”, echoing previous criticisms of Kamala Harris.
“Kamala Harris just doubled down on her radical vision for America,” the ad’s narrator says. “Tim Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala’s dangerously liberal agenda.”
The ad concludes: “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz: they’re failed, weak and dangerously liberal.”
The full ad is here:
Tim Walz: Another Left-Wing Extremist pic.twitter.com/0Dv2m4cNH2
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 6, 2024
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Vance says he left Walz a voicemail congratulating him
Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance said he left a voicemail congratulating Tim Walz on his selection as Kamala Harris’s running mate.
“I actually called Tim Walz. I left a voicemail. I didn’t get him,” Vance told reporters.
“But I just said, look, congratulations. Look forward to a robust conversation. Enjoy the ride. And maybe he’ll call me back, maybe he won’t.”
Before Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Harris had accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate Trump’s running mate in mid-August. But the timing and venue of a vice-presidential debate is now up in the air.
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Biden calls on Americans to rally behind Harris and Walz
Joe Biden celebrated Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate, encouraging all Americans to rally behind the new Democratic nominee after he dropped out of the presidential race last month.
“I’ve known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as Governor,” Biden said on X.
“A husband and father, he’s been a school teacher and a high school football coach. He served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and became the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress. As Governor, he’s been a strong, principled, and effective leader.”
The first major decision a party nominee makes is their choice for Vice President. And Kamala Harris has made a great decision in choosing Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 6, 2024
I've known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as Governor. A…
Biden went on to say:
The Harris-Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class. They will be the strongest defenders of our personal freedoms and our democracy. And they will ensure that America continues to lead the world and play its role as the indispensable nation.
It’s time for all Democrats – and indeed all Americans – committed to freedom, democracy, and American leadership in the world to rally behind the Harris-Walz ticket.
Every generation of Americans faces a moment where they are asked to defend American democracy. That moment is now.
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Today so far
Here’s where this busy day in US politics stands so far:
The Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has selected Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, and Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, were reportedly the two finalists in Harris’s search for a running mate.
Harris said she chose Walz because of his “convictions on fighting for middle-class families”. “We are going to build a great partnership,” Harris said on Instagram. “We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”
Walz thanked Harris for “the honor of a lifetime” by choosing him. “I’m all in,” Walz said on X. “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let’s get this done, folks!”
Republicans attacked Walz as extreme, while Democrats praised him as a down-to-earth leader who can achieve change. “Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. But Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, rejected that characterization. “He’s right down the middle,” Pelosi told MSNBC. “He’s a heartland-of-America Democrat.”
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
The Guardian’s Dharna Noor reports on green advocates’ praise for Tim Walz as a climate champion:
“Like Vice-President Harris, Governor Walz knows that climate change is the existential threat of our time,” the Sierra Club’s executive director, Ben Jealous, said in a statement.
Supporters say his robust climate record as governor of Minnesota shows what Walz can bring to the presidential ticket.
In 2023, Walz signed a law mandating that Minnesota generate all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040, setting one of the strongest climate standards in the US.
“This law, even more ambitious than similar measures in traditionally progressive states, showcases the kind of forward-thinking leadership our country needs to address the worsening climate crisis,” said Cassidy DiPaola, communications director for Fossil Free Media, a non-profit pushing for the swift transition away from fossil fuels.
In June, Walz also signed a policy meant to speed the implementation of the 2040 clean power mandate by streamlining energy permitting.
“This is a measure that will help protect our environment and get the clean energy projects that are going to help fight climate change in motion,” he said.
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Obamas on Walz: 'Kamala Harris has chosen an ideal partner'
Barack and Michelle Obama released a statement celebrating Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate, praising the Minnesota governor’s “ability to talk like a human being and treat everyone with decency and respect”.
“When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, it says a lot about who they are and what kind of president they’ll be,” the Obamas said. “Do they pick someone inexperienced and polarizing who will deepen our divisions? Or do they pick someone with the judgment to make tough decisions, and the character to believe that every voice counts and everyone deserves an equal chance?”
That second question appeared to be a thinly veiled dig at the Republican vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance, a freshman senator from Ohio who has attracted criticism for his views on abortion access and those without children.
The Obamas went on to say:
By selecting Tim Walz to be her vice-president from a pool of outstanding Democrats, Kamala Harris has chosen an ideal partner – and made it clear exactly what she stands for.
Governor Walz doesn’t just have the experience to be vice-president, he has the values and the integrity to make us proud. As governor, Tim helped families and businesses recover from the pandemic, established paid family leave, guaranteed the right to an abortion and put common sense gun safety measures in place to keep communities safe. But Tim’s signature is his ability to talk like a human being and treat everyone with decency and respect – not all that surprising considering the fact that he served in the national guard for 24 years and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach before being elected to Congress.
Like Vice-President Harris, Governor Walz believes that government works to serve us. Not just some of us, but all of us. That’s what makes him an outstanding governor, and that’s what will make him an even better vice-president, ready on day one. Michelle and I couldn’t be happier for Tim and Gwen, their family and our country.
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Despite the popularity of Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, in the battleground state, progressives said his policy background gave them pause, and a number of them publicly urged Kamala Harris to choose a different running-mate before she announced her decision.
In particular, Shapiro’s response to the war in Gaza had sparked criticism on the left. Progressives note that Shapiro has not embraced calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and he made controversial comments about pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses earlier this year.
“I think what’s important is that we can’t allow peaceful protest about a disagreement on policy happening in the Middle East to be an excuse for antisemitism or Islamophobia on these campuses,” Shapiro told CNN in April. “We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this, if this were people dressed up in [Ku Klux Klan] outfits or KKK regalia making comments about people who are African-American in our communities.”
Progressives’ concerns about Shapiro extended beyond the war in Gaza. Last year, Shapiro backed a Republican proposal to provide Pennsylvania with $100m in private school vouchers. The issue of “school choice” has become a rallying cry on the right, while Democrats have consistently stressed the importance of investing in public education to provide more opportunities to all students.
After his pro-voucher stance attracted intense scrutiny from fellow Democrats, Shapiro vetoed the program out of the state budget. With Tim Walz as her running mate, Harris will not need to worry about progressives’ criticism of Shapiro’s record.
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Some Democrats had argued that the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, would offer a strategic advantage as Kamala Harris’s running mate because of his popularity in a key battleground state.
Even though evidence is mixed as to whether vice-presidential nominees can help deliver their home states, Shapiro’s high approval rating had raised Democrats’ expectations of a polling bump in Pennsylvania. The governor has a favorability rating of 61%, according to a recent Fox News poll, and he has consistently outperformed fellow Democrats in the perennial battleground state.
In 2016, when Donald Trump carried Pennsylvania by 0.7 points, Shapiro won his race for state attorney general by 3 points. When Joe Biden won the state by 1.2 points in 2020, Shapiro secured re-election with a 5-point victory. And in 2022, Shapiro easily won his gubernatorial race by 15 points, while Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman defeated his opponent by 5 points.
But Harris decided to instead pick Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate, even though his state is much less significant in the electoral map. In 2020, Biden won Minnesota by 7 points compared with his 1-point victory in Pennsylvania.
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Walz thanks Harris for 'the honor of a lifetime' as running mate
Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, expressed gratitude to Kamala Harris after she selected him as her running mate in the presidential race.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign. I’m all in,” Walz said on X.
“Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us.”
It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 6, 2024
I’m all in.
Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.
So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us. https://t.co/tqOVsw2OLM
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Shapiro: 'My work here in Pennsylvania is far from finished'
Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, reaffirmed his commitment to getting Democrats elected in November, after Kamala Harris decided not to choose him as her running mate.
Reports indicated that Shapiro and Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, were the two finalists in Harris’s search for a running mate, and she ultimately chose Walz.
My work here in Pennsylvania is far from finished — there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for our Commonwealth.
— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) August 6, 2024
Over the next 90 days, I look forward to traveling all across the Commonwealth to unite Pennsylvanians behind my friends Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and defeat… pic.twitter.com/Mkc1isQTo9
Shapiro, who could have been the first Jewish American to serve as vice-president, invoked his faith as he explained the path forward for him and his family.
“My life in public service has always been motivated by my family and my faith,” Shapiro said in a new statement. “Since I first ran for state representative 20 years ago, I’ve been called to serve because I want to leave our community, our commonwealth and our country better off for our children – and because my faith teaches me that no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it.”
He went on to say:
Nearly two weeks ago, Vice-President Harris asked me to work with her team to complete the vetting process to be considered as her running mate – and following those conversations, on Sunday, I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with the vice-president directly about her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.
As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the vice-president – and it was also a deeply personal decision for me. Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their governor, and my work here is far from finished – there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this commonwealth.
Serving as the 48th governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the highest honor of my life – showing up in your communities, listening to and learning from you, and then working across the aisle to get stuff done and deliver results for you. In just 19 months, we’ve made a meaningful, positive impact in peoples’ lives, and I’m proud of how Americans all across the country have taken notice of what we’re accomplishing here in Pennsylvania. I’m excited to continue working to protect and advance real freedom, deliver good schools, safe communities and economic opportunity.
Vice-President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support – and I know that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward. Lori and I consider Tim and Gwen to be good friends of ours and we are excited for them and for the country to get to know the great people we know them to be. Over the next 90 days, I look forward to traveling all across the commonwealth to unite Pennsylvanians behind Kamala Harris’s campaign to defeat Donald Trump, become the 47th president of the United States and build a better future for our country.
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Harris confirms Walz as running mate: 'We are going to win this election'
Kamala Harris has confirmed her selection of Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate via an Instagram post.
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @walzforgovernor to be my running mate,” Harris said. “One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle-class families run deep. It’s personal.”
She went on to say:
He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, spending summers working on his family’s farm. His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher. He served as both the football coach and the advisor of the Gay-Straight Alliance.
I share this background both because it’s impressive in its own right, and because you see in no uncertain terms how it informs his record. He worked with Republicans to pass infrastructure investments. He cut taxes for working families. He passed a law to provide paid family and medical leave to Minnesotan families.
He made Minnesota the first state in the country to pass a law providing constitutional abortion protections after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, and as an avid hunter, he passed a bill requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.
But what impressed me most about Tim is his deep commitment to his family: Gwen, Gus and Hope. Doug and I look forward to working with him and Gwen to build an administration that reflects our shared values.
Whether you are a supporter, a volunteer, a donor, a member of our staff or your name is on the ticket: you are part of the people-powered campaign that is going to defeat Donald Trump.
We are going to build a great partnership. We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.
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Trump campaign attacks Walz as 'dangerously liberal extremist'
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has released a new statement attacking Tim Walz as a “dangerously liberal extremist”, lambasting the policy agenda he has pursued as governor of Minnesota.
Since Minnesota Democrats secured a legislative trifecta in the 2022 elections, Walz has signed a series of progressive bills protecting abortion access, expanding background checks for gun purchases and legalizing recreational marijuana.
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants west coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden state,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign press secretary.
“From proposing his own carbon-free agenda to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide. If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”
Updated
Here’s some more background information on Tim Walz:
Walz has served as Minnesota’s governor since 2019 after 12 years in the House of Representatives and now chairs the Democratic Governors Association. He has built a reputation as a folksy politician who can get things done, as Minnesota has adopted a number of progressive laws during his tenure. According to a poll conducted earlier this year, Walz enjoys an approval rating of 55% among Minnesotans.
Since Minnesota Democrats achieved a legislative trifecta in the 2022 elections, Walz and his allies have used their power to push a slate of progressive policies. The governor has signed bills protecting abortion access, expanding background checks for prospective gun owners and legalizing recreational marijuana.
“Right now, Minnesota is showing the country you don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Walz said last year. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”
That philosophy has endeared him to progressives, who threw their support behind him as the veepstakes kicked into high gear over the past two weeks. They reshared clips of Walz lovingly mocking his daughter’s vegetarianism and tinkering with his car to paint him as the dad that America needs right now.
But as the running mate, Walz will need to introduce himself to a much wider audience. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that only 13% of Americans knew enough about Walz to register an opinion of him.
Read more about Walz’s background:
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Pelosi praises Walz as 'heartland-of-America Democrat'
Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, joined MSNBC to celebrate Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate.
Pelosi had reportedly been leaning toward Walz in the veepstakes, as the two of them served in the House together for 12 years.
Appearing on Morning Joe, Pelosi fiercely rejected any characterization of Walz as an out-of-touch progressive, as many Republicans are trying to paint him.
“To characterize [Tim Walz] as left is so unreal,” Pelosi said. “He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland-of-America Democrat.”
Updated
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison praised Tim Walz as an effective leader who would help Kamala Harris pave a path to victory in November.
“We have worked alongside one another for almost 20 years, so I can say with confidence that there is no better choice for vice-president of the United States of America. Tim has the courage of a veteran, the compassion of a school teacher, the grit of a football coach, and the experience of both a congressman and governor,” Ellison said in a statement.
“Tim Walz and Kamala Harris are true public servants who have spent their lives working tirelessly on behalf of the American people. Plus, they are both big-hearted, jovial people with great senses of humor and boundless optimism. I look forward to campaigning vigorously for the Harris-Walz ticket, and I cannot wait to see what Kamala and Tim accomplish on behalf of America.”
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Republicans seem to be pleased as well that Kamala Harris has chosen Tim Walz as her running mate.
Kellyanne Conway, former senior adviser to Donald Trump, wrote on X: “Tim Walz? What a relief.”
The House majority whip, Tom Emmer, who is also a Minnesota resident, said: “Walz is an empty suit who has worked to turn Minnesota into Harris’d home state of California, and solidifies this ticket’s full embrace of a radical, America-last agenda.”
Brendan Buck, who served as an adviser to Paul Ryan, the former Republican House speaker, added: “The VP doesn’t matter a ton but I think this reflects very poorly on her decision making … Feels very 2019. Tell the internet what it wants to hear.”
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Progressive Democrats celebrate selection of Tim Walz
Progressives are celebrating the selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate, praising the Minnesota governor’s policy record and ability to directly confront Republicans.
“Tim Walz is an effortless populist and represents the exact direction the Democratic party needs,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Walz has proven that he has the necessary skills and authentic populism to go on offense – calling out the extremist and weird Trump-Vance agenda.”
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said in a statement, “The selection of Tim Walz as the vice-presidential nominee is a clear indication that the Harris campaign is listening to the voices of progressives across the country. Governor Walz’s strong pro-labor record and dedication to working-class issues align with our movement’s goals to take on corporate power and create an economy that works for everyone.”
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Donald Trump’s allies are already coming out swinging against Tim Walz, just minutes after reports first emerged that Kamala Harris had selected the Minnesota governor as her running mate.
The pro-Trump Super Pac Make America Great Again Inc said in a press release, “Governor Tim Walz and Kamala Harris will get along just great. They’re both far-left radicals that don’t know how to govern.”
The Pac pointed to some of the progressive bills that Walz has signed into law and the unrest that engulfed Minneapolis in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer, to paint the governor as an “incompetent liberal”.
Updated
Kamala Harris will formally introduce Tim Walz as her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, later today.
Harris and the Minnesota governor will then take a tour of battleground states in the days ahead, with stops planned in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Updated
Kamala Harris names Tim Walz as vice-presidential pick for 2024 US election
Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the presidential race, the AP confirmed.
The widely anticipated announcement comes one day after Harris officially secured the Democratic nomination following a virtual roll call vote of the party’s delegates.
Harris, who is the first woman of color to serve as a major party’s nominee, will formally accept the nomination at the Democratic convention in Chicago later this month, where she and Walz will both deliver speeches.
More details to come …
Harris picks Walz as running mate – report
Kamala Harris has reportedly selected Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, as her running mate in the presidential race.
Four sources told CNN that Walz was the pick, but the Harris campaign has not yet officially announced her decision.
Stay tuned …
Updated
Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who is on Kamala Harris’ shortlist of potential running mates, held a fundraiser for her campaign in Minneapolis last night.
Walz has won praise for mocking Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as “weird,” an attack line that has now been picked up by Harris. At the fundraiser, Walz told attendees that Democrats need to embrace the “politics of joy”.
“We’ve got to run this campaign against the serious threat that’s there, but we have to do it every single day with a sense of joy,” Walz said.
Pointing to Republicans’ efforts to restrict abortion access and ban certain books in US schools, Walz added, “It wasn’t a slur to call these guys weird … It was an observation.”
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Vance: antisemitism to blame if Harris doesn't pick Shapiro
Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance spoke to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt this morning and weighed in on the Democratic veepstakes.
Hewitt said he would be “shocked” if Kamala Harris did not select Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor who could become the first Jewish-American to serve as vice-president.
Vance agreed, saying, “I think that they will have not picked Shapiro, frankly, out of antisemitism in their own caucus and in their own party. I think it’s disgraceful the Democrats have gotten to this point where it’s even an open conversation, and it is an open conversation.”
He added, “Even if it is Josh Shapiro, the guy has, in some ways, had to run away from a lot of his biography over the last few months because the far left doesn’t like the fact that he is a Jewish American. So look, we have to be honest about this fact. We have to call it out.”
Shapiro’s critics have fiercely rejected any suggestion of antisemitism on their part, arguing that their concerns lie with the governor’s views on education and the war in Gaza.
Shapiro has previously voiced strong support for Israel and made some controversial comments about pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses earlier this year. He also enraged public school advocates by supporting a private school voucher program, although he later vetoed that proposal under pressure from fellow Democrats.
Here’s more background on Shapiro:
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As we await Kamala Harris’s running mate announcement, Americans in some states are heading to the polls today.
Voters in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington state will cast ballots in their congressional primaries today. Results in Michigan will be especially scrutinized, as the battleground state will play a key role in the presidential election.
In Missouri, the progressive congresswoman Cori Bush is facing a primary threat from her fellow Democrat Wesley Bell, whose campaign has benefited from millions of dollars spent by pro-Israel groups. Their efforts come after Bush became one of the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reports:
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) pumped more than $8.5m into the race in Missouri’s first congressional district in support of Bush’s rival, St Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell, through its campaign funding arm, the United Democracy Project (UDP). …
The UDP accounts for more than half of all the money spent on the race outside of the campaigns themselves. Much of it comes from billionaires who fund hardline pro-Israel causes and Republicans in other races, including some who have given to Donald Trump’s campaign.
The UDP’s spending to oust Bush is second only to the money it poured into a successful campaign to defeat another member of the ‘Squad’, New York congressman Jamaal Bowman, in a Democratic primary in June.
Read Chris’ full report:
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Here’s the statement from the DNC chair, Jaime Harrison, and the DNCC chair, Minyon Moore.
With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice-President Harris has historic momentum at her back as we embark on the final steps in officially certifying her as our Party’s nominee.
We thank the thousands of delegates from all across the country who took seriously their responsibility throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard.
As we prepare to certify the nomination alongside Convention Secretary Rae, we know that we are all a part of an important piece of history. Soon, it will be time to come together in Chicago, where we will celebrate together and make clear to the American people that the Democratic Party is the party of freedom, of democracy, of rights, and of the people.
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Kamala Harris officially becomes Democratic nominee
Democratic delegates selected Kamala Harris, the vice-president, to be the party’s presidential nominee, according to final vote results released late Monday by the Democratic National Committee, the Associated Press reported.
Harris received nearly 4,600 votes in the five-day online voting process, which the DNC said was 99% of participating delegates.
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Who is Mark Kelly?
Kelly’s resume stands out in the sea of lawyers that dominate Washington.
The Arizona senator was a US navy pilot who served multiple deployments. He was on Celebrity Jeopardy. He is a steadfast partner to his wife, former US representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson in 2011 and has worked alongside Kelly to limit guns since.
Oh, and he’s been to space multiple times because he was an astronaut, along with his twin brother, Scott. He even wrote a children’s book about it, called Mousetronaut.
“An astronaut! Who doesn’t like astronauts, except for Flat Earthers, right? But they’re very small in quantity,” Arizona pollster Mike Noble said. “So, outside of Flat Earthers, I’m trying to think of what’s more American than astronauts. Astronaut takes everybody. I’ve been to space, what have you done?”
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Here’s a bit of insight into Tim Walz’s communication style. In 2019, he published this video with his daughter explaining a new law.
Hey Minnesota! Today the new hands-free law goes into effect. 🚫🤳🚗
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) August 1, 2019
My daughter, Hope, and I put our car in park to give some tips on going hands-free and show just how distracting phones can be.#OneMinnesota #HandsFreeMN pic.twitter.com/MqW4Zqfy5o
Who is Tim Walz?
Minnesota’s governor captured the internet’s attention and swayed Democrats’ messaging by succinctly summing up how he views Republicans: they’re weird.
Clips of Walz have spread widely, cementing him as a national voice for Kamala Harris’s campaign – and a potential pick to run alongside her as vice-president.
Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe.
Walz first ran for office in 2006 in a Republican-leaning congressional district, knocking off the incumbent in an upset. He kept the district until 2016, dispatching Republicans over and over. In 2018, he ran for governor and won, then defended the seat successfully in 2022.
He’s now the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a perch that has given him a national profile.
Updated
As speculation mounted about his political future, Josh Shapiro was spotted yesterday playing basketball with one of his children.
PA Gov. Josh Shapiro is home in Montgomery County tonight, playing basketball w/his son, as we wait to hear if he is Kamala Harris’ running mate.
— Caroline Goggin (@CarolineGoggin) August 5, 2024
Shapiro is one of the finalists said to be under consideration. Harris’ first stop w/her pick will be in Philadelphia tomorrow. @6abc pic.twitter.com/8jAZ3cmVr0
Here are some recent images of Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania who is a leading contender to be named Kamala Harris’s running mate.
Who is Josh Shapiro?
Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, is a leading contender to be named Kamala Harris’s running mate.
A congressional aide turned state representative and state attorney general, the 51-year-old father of four was elected governor in 2022.
Close to two years later, he maintains historically high approval ratings, including notable support from Republicans, his numbers outstripping such ratings both for Harris and for the GOP ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance.
In 2020, the declaration of victory in Pennsylvania confirmed Joe Biden’s election win over Trump.
In 2024, the state is again one of the most important presidential battlegrounds.
On Tuesday, Harris will stage her first event with her vice-presidential pick in Philadelphia, the state’s biggest city: a move that did little to quell speculation that Shapiro will be that pick.
Harris to announce VP pick
Kamala Harris is set to announce her choice of a running mate today, before they appear together at an evening rally in Philadelphia to kick off a five-day tour of the swing states that are crucial to winning the presidential election.
The culmination of what has been a lightning-fast vetting process – it is little more than two weeks since Joe Biden, the 81-year-old president, made the historic decision to stand aside and Harris became the de facto nominee – has seen a round of interviews both in person and online.
On Monday, Reuters reported that the search had narrowed to two governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Harris, 59, interviewed both men, as well as the Arizona senator Mark Kelly, over the weekend at the Naval Observatory, the Washington DC residence of the vice-president.
Three other men were reported to be on her shortlist: the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker; the Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear; and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is now the US secretary of transportation.
With polling showing her gaining on Donald Trump – CBS gave the Democrat a one-point edge nationally and put the candidates level in battleground states – and a rocky rollout for Trump’s own vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, speculation has been rife as to whom Harris will select.
