FILE PHOTO: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to the press after attending a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Democratic governors at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday, choosing a plain speaker from America's heartland to help her take the fight to Republican rival Donald Trump.
Minnesota's Democratic governor since 2018 and a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, Walz, 60, has been a schoolteacher, football coach, hunter and gun owner and has deep connections to rural American voters who in recent years have voted broadly for Trump - all of which are qualities that make Walz a good partner, said a source close to the selection process.
Harris, 59, became the Democratic standard-bearer after President Joe Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign under party pressure last month. She has since raised hundreds of millions of dollars and recast the race against Trump with a boost of energy from her party's base.
"Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families," Harris told supporters in a text. The source close to the selection process cited Walz's executive experience as another plus.
Walz has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for workers.
Trump campaign officials seized on the selection to paint Walz as a liberal like Harris whose values they say are out of touch with most Americans.
"It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," the Trump campaign said in a statement, a reference to California, Harris' home state.
Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, is adding a popular Midwestern politician whose home state votes reliably for Democrats in presidential elections but is close to Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial battleground states that could decide the election.
Walz was a relative unknown nationally until the Harris "veepstakes" heated up, but his profile has since surged. Harris chose him over popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Harris was expected to appear with Walz at an event in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening. In the Nov. 5 U.S. election, they will face Trump, 78, and his running mate JD Vance, who is 40 and another military veteran from the Midwest.
Vance said he called Walz to congratulate him and left a voicemail. He also criticized the Democratic ticket's approach to immigration, crime and energy when he spoke to reporters on his campaign plane.
THE GEORGE FLOYD FACTOR
Walz has faced criticism, notably from Republicans, over his handling of the protests that emerged after the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder.
Images of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of an African American, who died, exposed deeper grievances and gave rise to protests over strained race relations in the U.S. and abroad.
Critics said Walz was too slow to mobilize the forces to stop the looting, arson and violence that accompanied the protests in Minneapolis. Walz and his team have said they dealt with the issues as best they could, including by deploying the National Guard.
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of National Action Network, said Walz had responded to calls for justice for Floyd by tapping the state's attorney general to lead the prosecution in the case. The police officer was convicted of murder and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
"I learned then that he was a man who will listen and do what is right by those he represents," Sharpton said in a statement.
WALZ ON THE ATTACK
Walz rose to prominence over the last week and a half, partly propelled by his use of "weird" to describe Trump and Vance, a catchy insult that was picked up by the Harris campaign, social media and Democratic activists.
His plain-spoken criticism seemed to resonate more with the public than the broad-brush remarks of Trump critics who portray the Republican presidential candidate as an existential threat to democratic institutions.
Walz has also assailed claims by Trump and Vance of having middle class credentials.
"They keep talking about the middle class. 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," Walz said in an MSNBC interview.
While Walz has supported Democratic Party orthodoxy on issues ranging from legalized abortion and same-sex marriage to the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, he also racked up a centrist voting record during his congressional career.
Walz was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and again in 2022.
Walz's shift from a centrist representing a single rural district in Congress to a more progressive politician as governor may have been in response to the demands of voters in major cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul.
"He runs the risk of reinforcing some of the worst fears people have of Kamala Harris being a San Francisco liberal," said Ryan Dawkins, a political science professor at Minnesota's Carleton College.
Walz has a ready counter-attack.
"What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions," Walz said in a July CNN interview. "So if that's where they want to label me, I'm more than happy to take the label."
As the state's top executive, Walz mandated the use of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic and signed a law making marital rape illegal. He presided over several years of budget surpluses in Minnesota on the road to his 2022 reelection.
"Walz fostered a pro-business climate, attracting substantial investment and positioning the state as a top contender for business development," said LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. "I'm confident that as VP, he'll continue to protect America's innovation power and fuel economic growth."
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason, Doina Chiacu and Richard Cowan; additional reporting by Gram Slattery and Kat Stafford; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)
