Kamala Harris’ nascent presidential campaign has reportedly asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for vetting materials as she seeks a vice presidential running mate.
Is Kamala Harris vetting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for vice president? He’s not saying.
The second-term DFL governor said it’s been “a little weird” to see his name reported as a possible candidate.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 23, 2024 at 8:42PM
The second-term DFL governor said it’s been “a little weird” to see his name floated as a possible VP pick, but he wouldn’t comment on whether he’s being actively vetted by the Harris campaign.
“I’m not going to talk about the specifics that we’re in on that. At this point in time, we’re just going to leave it at that,” Walz said Tuesday at an event to announce new federal grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adding that he’s “focusing on the job here.”
Walz’s name has been circulating as a possible running mate for Harris, who is going through an accelerated process to vet and pick a candidate ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
Democratic governors top the list of possibilities, including Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state, as well as Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Along with Walz, fellow Midwestern Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also been mentioned, as well as Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.
Walz said he talked to Harris early Sunday afternoon, shortly after the news broke that President Joe Biden would not seek another term and was throwing his support behind Harris.
“I said I will be there to do whatever I can to help, and that’s where we’re at at this point,” Walz said.
Walz is in the second year of his second term as governor. While there are no term limits for governors in Minnesota, most don’t seek a third consecutive term. Walz hasn’t said what he plans to do after his four-year term is up.
On the national level, he’s in the middle of what happens next no matter what as the co-chair of the Democratic Convention’s rules committee, which is meeting Wednesday to set official rules for how the convention will proceed. He said a three-day period will follow that meeting where anyone who wants to run to be the nominee can do so.
It takes 1,976 delegates to secure the party’s nomination. The Associated Press reported that Harris already has more than the total she needs heading into the vote, which will happen before the convention convenes Aug. 19.
“This is the same process that it’s always been post-COVID, we just vote virtually, and that’s what will happen sometime after Aug. 1 and before Aug. 7,” Walz said. “The open convention is right now.”
Some Democrats, including Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, want to see more campaign-style events with the potential candidates before there is a vote. No other Democrats have mounted a challenge to Harris yet.
Walz was also an official surrogate of the Biden campaign before he dropped out, calling him the “best president of my lifetime.”
Now he’s aggressively hitting the cable news circuit stumping for Harris and said there’s been a shift in energy, particularly from younger voters. Democrats have also started talking about the issues, rather than Biden’s age or his debate performance, he said.
“There’s plenty of time to go. There’s lots of excitement,” Walz said. “Maybe we’ve changed the discussion in America.”
Before jetting off to Milwaukee, Walz said he is still involved in governing the state.
