All the right moves – that’s been Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to date. Her first major decision of the campaign was to select a VP running mate who would both complement her vision for the country and enhance her viability by bringing in new groups of voters to her side.
Her choice of Gov of Minnesota Tim Walz was a smart choice. With Walz, Kamala broadens the ticket’s appeal. He is from the Midwest. Kamala is from the West Coast. He is from rural America. Kamala is an urbanite from the Bay Area. He is a male Caucasian. Kamala is mixed race African and Asian American. He, of late as a governor, leans progressive-left. Kamala is a centrist much like President Joe Biden.
Kamala also had to find the right candidate to unify the Democratic Party which had experienced deep splintering over the war in Gaza, pitting progressives against establishment Democrats. While Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro (the former frontrunner to VP) checked high marks among establishment Democrats and wealthy donors in the party, there were a few potential landmines in his past that Harris likely felt could have been too divisive and would waste too much time defending.
Walz comes in with a clean slate and is a popular choice among the moderate-establishment wing of the party and progressive elements. So much so that he received praises from both Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in the House, as well as Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders in the Senate – spanning the entire spectrum of the Democratic Party.
During Walz time in the U.S. House, he was known to be a moderate, blue dog. As Governor of Minnesota, his record of providing free school lunches, protecting abortion rights, investing in affordable housing, supporting universal gun background checks, and instituting clean energy among other measures – earned him progressive credibility.
Democrats were exceedingly amped over Walz’ selection that right after the Governor was announced as VP choice, the progressive fund-raising platform ActBlue recorded an average of $3 million an hour for the first half-day, according to the New York Times. Since the Walz announcement, the Harris campaign has raised $36 million, AP reports.
Who is Walz?
The Governor of Minnesota isn’t a household name. Walz was chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), a post he just resigned from because of his selection to VP. He’s been the Governor of Minnesota since 2019 and has extensive executive experience leading one of the largest states in the Midwest with close to 6 million residents.
In addition to his executive experience, he has legislative experience having served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019 where many of his colleagues are still in office which could bolster chances for Harris’ legislative proposals.
Prior to public office, he was a schoolteacher for many years and is a retired U.S. Army non-commissioned officer with the Army National Guard.
His colleagues in Congress describe him as being very smart and always filled with joy. Some say he’s focused, goal-driven and hopeful, which characteristics were perfect during his time as a state champion high school coach.
In a time of radical uncertainty in the U.S. and globally, Walz supporters say he brings a sense of certainty and security like a dad – “America’s dad,” as this moniker of him is sticking as he sweeps the campaign trail. He’s seen as “normal” in a good way, as opposed to his coining of his Republican counterpart JD Vance as just “weird.” A steady, stable normalizing force perhaps is what’s needed in these tumultuous times.
JD Vance and linking childlessness to “sociopathy”
Trump’s VP Vance is unpopular and said to be a drag on Trump. Contrary to Walz’s universal acceptance by his political party, MAGA die-hards are calling for Vance to be replaced.
Vance’s attack on adults without children is infantilism. How does alienating this sector of the population boosts the Trump campaign? Indirectly, this attack is clearly meant to resurrect the old GOPs mantra of, “we’re the party of traditional family values.” But that’s rich when considering Trump isn’t exactly the traditional family man being twice divorced, have multiple children from three different woman, and is alleged to have been committing adultery while Melania was pregnant.
Vance’s background transitioning from childhood poverty to U.S. Senator is certainly a remarkable feat and deserving to be applauded. He brings diversity to the GOP with his Asian Indian spouse. His life is inspirational and respectable, absolutely. But Vance’s ideological conservative extremism – especially his stance on abortion, goes against the values of most Americans. For example, he was unclear about whether abortion should be legal exceptions in cases of rape or incest, giving an ambiguous comment, “Look, I think two wrongs don’t make a right. At the end of day, we are talking about an unborn baby. What kind of society do we want to have? A society that looks at unborn babies as inconveniences to be discarded?” – according to POLITIFACT.
Vance’s “populist purity” can also be called to question. He’s a Yale Law School graduate, worked as a corporate lawyer and venture capitalist with billionaire Peter Thiel as his donor-boss – that’s hardly a resume MAGA populists could truly connect with or relate. However, in fairness to Vance, he is somewhat of an economic populist. He’s resisted further reducing of the corporate tax rate (something Trump supports) and supports limiting large corporate mergers. The latter is maverick and bold given that he’s worked as a venture capitalist. These economic populist stances have even been of concern to Wall Street elites that did not support Vance during Trump’s VP deliberation. But ultimately, when comparing Walz’s populist cred to Vance’s – it’s clear Walz has the upper hand.
Polls also favor Walz. A YouGov survey shows Walz with a net favorability rating of +11 compared to Vance’s -9. It appears in the last stretch toward the General Election, Walz could be that energy drink to carry the Harris campaign through the finish line, while Vance will be that extra weight burdening an already tired and elderly Trump.
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