Kamala Harris picked the former schoolteacher and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. The move leans into the viral, digital appeal of the new Harris campaign and bucks the theory that Harris needed a key swing state politician on the ticket.
Harris video-called Walz Tuesday morning to ask him to be her running mate, and he accepted. Per a source close to the process, the Harris campaign was drawn to Walz’s executive experience and his connection to rural America. Harris and Walz also have a strong personal rapport, this person said.
Walz — an Army National Guard veteran, former geography teacher and football coach, and 12-year member of Congress — was elected governor in 2018. This background, as well as his identity as a hunter and gun owner, was appealing to the Harris camp.