August 06, 2024
Lily Smith/The Register; USA TODAY NETWORK
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was picked by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to serve as her running mate. She considered several others, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Kamala Harris passed over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro when selecting her running mate, instead opting for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The presidential candidate revealed her pick Tuesday morning, ending two weeks of speculation that began after she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. Shapiro was among at least three contenders who reportedly met with Harris in Washington on Sunday. The others: Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona, and Walz.
Harris is set to formally introduce Walz as her running mate Tuesday night at a rally at Temple University's Liacouras Center.
The decision is expected to be among the most critical of Harris's campaign. Harris and Walz will square off against Republican Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, in November's general election. Vance is holding a campaign event Tuesday afternoon in South Philly.
Walz, 60, is in his second term as Minnesota's governor, having previously served as a Congressman. He is a veteran, hunter and a former school teacher and high school football coach. As governor, Walz has pushed for stronger gun laws – a leftward shift from the stance he held earlier in his political career. Under his leadership, Minnesota has legalized recreational marijuana, enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution, allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses and boosted funding for free school meals and free college tuition for low-income families, according to the Washington Post.
In an Instagram post announcing her selection, Harris said she was impressed by his "deep" convictions for fighting for middle-class families, noting that he has worked with Republicans to pass infrastructure investments, cut taxes for working families and signed a law to provide paid family and medical leave for Minnesota families.
Walz called his selection "the honor of a lifetime," adding "I'm all in."
In a statement, Shapiro praised Walz as an "exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward." He committed to stumping for the Democratic ticket throughout Pennsylvania over the next three months.
"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," Shapiro said. "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 the Commonwealth."
Shapiro, 51, of Abington, Montgomery County, had the backing of Democrats in the Philadelphia region; the city's party endorsed him for the vice presidential nomination, and Mayor Cherelle Parker and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey had been among his outspoken advocates. The case for Shapiro centered on him being a political moderate with a high approval rating in a swing state. But Harris elected to go in a different direction.
Bob Brady, who chairs Philadelphia's Democratic Party, quickly threw his support behind Walz on Tuesday, writing in a fundraising email that Harris and Walz will make "great teammates."
"For 12 years, we walked the same halls of Congress, fighting for working families back home," Brady, a former Congressman wrote. "As VP, I am confident that Tim will continue that fight — to raise the minimum wage and not just protect but expand reproductive freedoms, workers' rights, and our children's educational opportunities."
Some Democrats had voiced concerns about Shapiro's standing among progressive voters because of his position favoring private school vouchers — traditionally thought of as a conservative policy — and his staunch support for Israel in the face of calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has been outspoken about antisemitism and joined calls in the spring to dissolve a pro-Palestinian encampment outside the University of Pennsylvania. Critics have argued that Shapiro's views are a potential threat to free speech.
Shapiro also has been rebuked for the way his administration handled a sexual harassment scandal involving his top legislative liaison, Michael Vereb, who resigned weeks after a $295,000 settlement was reached with the woman who came forward against him.
In the days before the announcement, Sen. John Fetterman's aides reportedly had expressed his concerns about Shapiro to Harris, saying Shapiro was too focused on his personal ambitions. Some in the party's progressive wing, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had pushed Harris to select Walz, a moderate expected to appeal to working-class voters.
Her shortlist had included six white men who had demonstrated an ability to win over white, rural voters. In addition to Shaprio, Walz and Kelly, they included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker.
Shapiro's steady rise in the Democratic party traces back more than two decades, when he held a series of roles on Capitol Hill while earning his law degree at Georgetown University. Shapiro returned to Abington in 2004 to run for state representative and won convincingly in a district that had long leaned Republican. He was then appointed to the newly created role of deputy speaker, cultivating a reputation as a bipartisan consensus builder in state government.
After four terms in the House, Shapiro was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011 when the board flipped to Democratic control for the first time. He was then elected Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2016 and served two terms, spearheading investigations into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and securing a $1 billion opioid settlement with drug distributors. In 2022, he defeated Republican Doug Mastriano to become Pennsylvania's governor.
Harris and her running mate will spend the next week campaigning in several swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona. The Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 19.
Staff writer Michael Tanenbaum contributed to this report.
