The Minnesota governor is seen as a folksy politician who can dish out attacks and has branded former president Donald Trump and his supporters as ‘weird.’
The rally at Temple University’s Liacouras Center served as the official kickoff for the combined campaign after Harris notified Walz on Tuesday morning that he was the one.
Following the rally in Philadelphia, the pair is set to embark on a whirlwind tour to states in the upper Midwest where the election could well be decided, including Wisconsin and Michigan, then on to the Southwest states of Arizona and Nevada.
The two Midwestern states are pivotal, as former President Donald Trump won those two in 2016 but then lost them to President Joe Biden in 2020. Harris is hoping to energize Latino voters at stops in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Here’s four takeaways from their official campaign debut.
Why Harris Picked Walz
There are reports that Harris felt comfortable with Walz and saw his record of legislative achievements in Minnesota as compatible with her agenda of family-friendly policies. Walz is also seen as palatable to rural voters in the Midwest, a key constituency for the Democrats to hold onto the “blue wall” of states that will be needed to secure 270 electoral votes.
“The pick could help Harris compete in rural areas where Walz has a record of attracting votes,” said Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel. “However, Walz is from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, so it will make it easier for the Trump campaign to attack the Harris/Walz ticket as too far left. We do not think vice presidential candidates impact the outcome of elections, although they can affect margins.”
At their first joint appearance, Walz appeared comfortable in the role of No. 2 – ready to step into the spotlight before a curious national audience without overshadowing his patron. He effusively praised Harris’ record as a prosecutor and a lawmaker.
“And I want all of you to hold this – and don’t underestimate the power of this – she does it all with a sense of joy,” he said.
Walz is a two-term governor of Minnesota, a veteran, a six-term congressman and a retired teacher who coached his school’s football team. While he is not well known outside his state, Minnesota under his stewardship has had success passing key legislation such as universal school meals, legalized marijuana, abortion protections and gun control measures.
His record has endeared him to progressives in the Democratic Party, but he has had success appealing to rural voters who Harris and the Democrats will need to make inroads into a demographic that has voted Republican in recent elections. He joined the Army National Guard and attended college on the GI Bill. He is also a gun owner – and seemed ready to make the case that the right to bear arms and reasonable restrictions on guns are not mutually exclusive concepts.
“In Minnesota, we believe in the Second Amendment. But we also believe in common-sense gun violence laws,” he said to applause.
But he does not have a national profile and it will be up to the Harris team to build that before Trump and the GOP can define him in the minds of voters.
The Minnesota Governor Has Already Shown He Is an Effective Attack Dog.
Walz was initially a dark horse for selection as Harris’ running mate, but he scored valuable points attacking Trump and his MAGA supporters as “weird” – a label that appeared to get under the former president’s skin.
And he gave a glimpse of the role he could play as he spoke in Philadelphia. Speaking of Trump, Walz said, “He froze in the face of the COVID crisis. He drove our economy into the ground.”
He also delivered a candid account of his family’s experience with infertility treatments – a stark contrast to attempts by some on the far right to restrict such procedures.
Walz will be hoping for a more successful debut as a vice presidential candidate than that of JD Vance, the Ohio senator Trump picked. Vance has come under intense criticism for his comments about women, particularly labeling some who are not married as “childless cat ladies.”
Vance also has had to defend Trump’s repeated attacks on immigrants while being married to a Hindu woman who is the child of Indian immigrants. If Tuesday was any indication, he will now have to face attacks from Walz.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community. Come on, that’s not what middle America is. And I’ve got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Walz said to sustained cheers.
The Trump campaign wasted no time in trying to brand Walz as a liberal with positions outside the mainstream of American politics.
“Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. “Just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”
PennsylvaniaWill Still Be Key Even Without Josh Shapiro on the Ticket.
But it is Harris who is the standard-bearer for the party, and it is not clear what the choice of a running mate can mean to a campaign. Shapiro, the apparent runner-up, was eyed for perhaps being able to deliver the Keystone State’s 19 Electoral College votes, without which it would be very difficult for Harris to win the White House. But Shapiro is expected to be a key supporter of the ticket on the campaign trail and served as the opening act of the Philadelphia rally.
Harris is “courtroom tough,” Shapiro said. “She has a big heart and she is battle-tested and ready to go.”
Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020 and spent much time there campaigning before his withdrawal from the contest in late July. But Trump won the state in 2016 and has also held rallies there, including the one in Butler where a young man tried to assassinate him in mid-July.
“We are the underdogs,” Harris told the crowd, “but we have the momentum.”
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