Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her 2024 running mate Tuesday after replacing President Biden as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, sources say.
Harris and Walz are expected to appear for the first time together at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, four people close to the process told CNN.
Harris had to choose her No. 2 quickly after the Democratic National Committee adopted rules enforcing a virtual roll call vote to appoint both the presidential and vice presidential nominee in the first week of August.
She was reported to have fired off vetting materials just days after Biden suspended his presidential campaign last month.
In the days leading up to her announcement, Harris had zeroed in on a trio of potential finalists — including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Others believed to be on her early vetting list had included North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Other reports indicated that Harris had also weighed Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
All the potential candidates had come out in support of Harris, but Whitmer was the first to say she was not interested in the job, noting she did not want to in leave her post in Michigan and to run for office this year.
On Sunday, Kelly added confusion to the Democratic Party’s veepstakes when he posted – then quickly deleted — a message to X in which he said his focus was on “serving Arizonans,” suggesting he was not the VP pick.
The Democratic Party mostly coalesced around Harris within days of her accepting Biden’s endorsement to replace him on the top of the ticket. The reported vetted candidates had been strong supporters of the Biden-Harris ticket and quickly pivoted to throw their weight behind Harris when Biden dropped his bid.
One strong Biden-Harris proponent was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, but he could not be considered because he hails from the same state as Harris.
A vice presidential candidate from a swing-state could give Harris an extra boost from voters in her fight against former President Donald Trump.
Harris’ campaign is banking on being more successful with minority voters compared to Trump’s reach, and is continuing to focus on the battleground states Biden was hoping to reach.
The potential list of VPs mostly came from the targeted swing states.
“We continue to focus on the Blue Wall states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — and the Sun Belt states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada,” Harris for President Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon had said in a statement in the first week of the campaign shift.
It comes after Harris officially secured the Democratic presidential nomination Monday night after receiving votes from 99% of the DNC delegates during a five-day round of online voting.
Harris was the only candidate who qualified for the virtual roll call electronic ballot – getting more than the required 300 delegates to back her.
After Tuesday’s day trip to Pennsylvania, Harris and her running mate are set to spend the next few days flying thousands of miles around the country as they tour critical battleground states.
They will be tailed in some locations by Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance.
Harris’ No. 2 may have to face off in a debate against Vance, though the dates and logistics have yet to be set.
With Post wires
