Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
According to reports, Walz, 60, is known as the dark horse contender for his No. 2 slot over other higher-ranking candidates such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Sharprio and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Walz’s popularity rose over the past week after his viral interview after he called some Republicans weird. Harris’ pick comes two weeks after President Biden ended his reelection campaign.
“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. They are bad on foreign policy, they are bad on the environment, they certainly have no healthcare plan, and they keep talking about the middle class,” he said. “As I said, a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are.”
Reports also state that Harris’ pick is the “safer choice” as opposed to Shapiro has received heavy criticism for his response to pro-Palestinian protests that took place during the Israel-Hamas war. Vice President Harris held three interviews over the weekend before solidifying her pick for Tim Walz.
Before getting into politics, Walz was a public school teacher and a football coach for more than 20 years. He was also a member of the National Guard before running for Congress in his 40s. In 2006, he beat a Republican to win Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, which is a rural conservative area. He would go on to win five reelections before running for Governor.
Tim Walz was elected governor in 2018 and then won his reelection in 2022. Harris and Walz will hold their first rally together on Tuesday in Philadelphia. This will be the first stop on their four-day tour, other states include Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, among other states.