Minnesota Gov. Tim Walt and Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump in November: NAJ screen shot

Breaking News –
Staff Report –

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has apparently picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, according to The New York Times and other news outlets, after Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro seemed to have the momentum going into the weekend.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Leads VP Contenders for Presidential Campaign of Kamala Harris

Clearly something changed over the weekend in the thinking as Harris and her team, mainly left over from the Joe Biden for President campaign, considered the best ticket to put forward before the American people at the Democratic national convention in Chicago to begin August 19. It is said some unions and more liberal and progressive Democratic groups had problems with Shapiro, who had embraced school vouchers, fracking for natural gas and staunchly supported Israel over Hamas in the war in Gaza, an important fight for the left.

So instead of going with the pick that could have nearly guaranteed her picking up Pennsylvania’s critical 10 electoral votes, Harris decided to elevate a former football coach whose rural roots, liberal policies and buzzy takedowns of former President Donald Trump have recently put him on the map. He famously called Trump, J.D. Vance and their crowd of MAGA extremists “weird.”

The vice president formally announced her selection in a post on Instagram.

“One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep,” Harris wrote in the post.

Walz, 60, emerged from a field of candidates who had better name recognition and more politically advantageous states. But he jumped to the top of Harris’s list, boosted by cable news appearances in which he declared that Republicans are simply “weird.” The new, clear articulation of why voters should reject Trump caught on fast and turned the spotlight on the plain-spoken Midwesterner.

Walz has worked with his state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to enact an ambitious agenda of liberal policies: free college tuition for low-income students, free meals for schoolchildren, legal recreational marijuana and protections for transgender people. He has also championed climate issues as governor, and faced criticism for his response to the George Floyd protests.

Harris secured her party’s nomination for president on Monday, earning the support of 99 percent of the 4,567 delegates who cast ballots, the Democratic National Committee said late Monday. In an unusual move, the roll call was held virtually over five days, instead of in person at the party’s convention.

Democratic and Republican primaries will take place in some high-profile races today — including for a Senate race in Michigan, governor’s races in Washington and Missouri, and the Democratic primary for the seat of Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, who faces a challenger supported by spending from powerful pro-Israel groups.

Harris’s standing in the polls against former President Trump, her Republican rival, has improved since her campaign officially began. The two candidates are in a tight race in both national polls and in the battleground states.

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