On Tuesday via a text message to supporters Kamala announced her selected Vice President Tim Walz who will be her running mate in the forthcoming November election.
“Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families. I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign, and to the office of the vice president,” she said in her message.
In a post on X, she said she was “proud” to choose Walz as her running mate.
“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his. It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris said on X.
Walz, 60, was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the US House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected the governor of the US state of Minnesota and re-elected to that position in 2022.
His nomination would bring to the presidential ticket a record of defeating a Republicans in a Midwestern state.
A veteran of the US Army National Guard, Walz serves as co-chair of the Democratic National Convention’s rules committee.
As governor, he has pushed a progressive agenda including free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for Minnesota workers.
Walz has long advocated for women’s reproductive rights and oversaw state approval of the right to abortion and protected gender-affirming care.
But he has also displayed a conservative bent while representing a rural district in the US House, defending agricultural interests and backing gun rights.
Walz is married to Gwen Walz and they have two children.
In a response to being selected by Harris, Walz said it is the “honour of a lifetime” to be Harris’s VP pick “I’m all in. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let’s get this done, folks!” he posted on X.
On Tuesday in Philadelphia Harris introduced Walz to supporters during their campaign rally.
The two will carry on campaigns in the swing state of Pennsylvania, followed by rallies in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada through Saturday.
The duo will face off against the Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance in the November election.
