Kamala Harris’ pick for VP Tim Walz and his mission to reconnect Democrats with their blue collar base

Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice for her running mate came down to two governors — one who offered to deliver the most populous 2024 battleground but threatened to alienate important party factions, and a little-known contender with progressive credentials from a reliably blue state.

In the end, Harris bypassed the pick from a more politically valuable state — Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro - for Minnesota’s Tim Walz, opting for a folksy governor whose mocking of Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance as “weird” became a rallying cry for Democrats.

Walz’s selection completes a two-week makeover of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, and it focuses the party’s hopes of defeating Trump on turning out the very progressive voters and rank-and-file labour members whose support for the sitting president had eroded.

Walz’s task is clear: Bring back Democratic blocs who drifted from Biden, while sharpening the party’s message on the economy — a defining issue — to expand the party’s appeal in states including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The potential for Walz to unite the party’s base and expand its appeal was immediately evident by the support he received from independent Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia — a onetime centrist Democrat — and Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a liberal firebrand.

Manchin said Walz could “bring normality back to the most chaotic political environment” many have seen. Ocasio-Cortez said Harris and Walz would “govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly,” calling his addition to the ticket “an excellent decision” in a post on X.

The pick is in some ways symbolic of the way in which Harris’ candidacy has upended an electoral map that just last month had Republicans eyeing Minnesota as a potential pickup.

Walz, 60, demonstrated his plain-spoken approach, which helped him win six terms in the House from a rural, conservative-leaning district and two terms as governor, ahead of his selection.

“These guys are just weird,” Walz said, an insult casting Trump as out-of-the-norm and energising Democrats who often struggled to find the right counter to the former president. Trump, a convicted felon who espouses policies that offer to test the boundaries of US law, was the frontrunner against Biden for much of the summer.

Labor-Friendly

Walz was hailed by progressives and leaders of organised labour, who had pushed for his selection. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler praised him Tuesday as a “labour champion who will stand up for working people.”

As governor, Walz signed legislation providing free breakfast and lunch to students, and expanded child care and paid family and medical leave — achievements Democrats hope resonate with voters hard-hit by high prices and anxiety over jobs and wages. Pocketbook issues will be central to Democratic messaging as Harris looks to counter one of her biggest liabilities — voter dismay with Biden’s handling of the economy.

Trump has made inroads with blue-collar workers, an effort Republicans sought to bolster with Vance’s starkly populist economic approach. Vance’s message is one Walz will be tasked with countering. While Harris can boast endorsements from union leaders, support has been less solid among labor’s rank-and-file who are wary of the Biden administration’s clean energy push.

Ticket Balance

Walz emerged from a shortlist of mostly White, male elected officials, including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, seen as bringing balance to an already historic ticket. Harris is seeking to become the first Black woman and first Asian-American US president.

Before entering politics, Walz served in the Army National Guard and worked as a high-school teacher. In the House, he focused largely on the military and veterans as well as agricultural issues - areas where he can bolster Harris’ standing.

He’s often displayed an independent streak — earning an endorsement from the National Rifle Association before going on to back gun restrictions, and as one of a handful of Democrats who once voted to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. Holder would go on to lead Harris’ vetting of running mates.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Walz Tuesday. “Growing up as a child working on the farm, Governor Tim Walz knows the heartland of America,” she said in a statement.

Carrying Walz’s own state offers to be an afterthought for Democrats. Minnesota last voted for a Republican for president in 1972, when Richard Nixon carried the state in a national landslide. Neighbouring Wisconsin, though, is a swing state and Walz’s birthplace of Nebraska does not award its five electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, leaving room for a pick-up.

Shapiro offered to deliver the party Pennsylvania, which has the most Electoral College votes of the seven battleground states, but his support for Israel in its war against Hamas threatened to spur a revolt from the Democratic left.

Vance criticised Harris for not picking Shapiro, blaming “antisemitism in their own caucus” in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.

GOP Attacks

One challenge Walz must overcome is the lack of a national profile. An ABC News/Ipsos poll of American adults from July 26-27 found 57 per cent said they didn’t know what impression they had of Walz, and almost one-third had no opinion of him.

Republicans delighted in the pick, attacking Walz as too liberal for voters and resurfacing images of civil unrest in his state after the murder of George Floyd — signalling that crime and race will be persistent themes in the election.

Trump at a July rally in Minnesota cast Walz as failing to control the protests in 2020. “When the violent mobs of anarchists and looters and Marxists came to burn down Minneapolis four years ago, remember me, I couldn’t get your governor to act,” Trump said.

In a bid to define Walz, Trump’s campaign labelled him a “dangerously liberal extremist” in a statement Tuesday and a video assailed him as “a rubber stamp” for Harris’ agenda.

Walz, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, was also criticised by their counterparts — the Republican Governors Association.

“His record shows that he consistently backs the most liberal policies that national Democrats have to offer,” RGA Executive Director Sara Craig said in a memo.

He’ll get his first test Tuesday evening at a Philadelphia rally, as he looks to introduce himself to voters.

Republican former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said Walz could deliver Harris’ liberal philosophy with a different style.

“He’s like Bernie Sanders in hunting gear,” Pawlenty said.