DEMOCRATS HAVE A NEW TICKET to rally around only 16 days after President Biden stepped aside.
Vice President Harris’s selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) sets up a showdown for the White House against former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R).
Democrats are thrilled with the Walz selection, viewing him as an affable executive who can speak to Midwest and Rust Belt voters that have drifted toward Republicans in the Trump era.
The Harris campaign raised more than $10 million after the announcement.
Walz attended state schools in Nebraska and Minnesota.
He was a public school teacher and football coach.
He enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17.
He flipped a GOP-held seat in 2006 and served 12 years in Congress, where he became chairman of the powerful Veterans Affairs Committee. He also served on the House Agriculture Committee.
He has a plain-spoken Midwest style, and he’s good on TV.
Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told The Evening Report in an email:
“Winning tickets need to offer two things, inspiration and comfortability. Harris inspires and Walz is your next door neighbor.”
Democrats from all corners of the party rallied behind Walz, from progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to centrist independent Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.). Even former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), the anti-Trump Republican running for Senate, praised the pick.
But progressives in particular feel like they got their man.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) backed Walz leading up to Harris’s announcement, and United Automobile Workers president Shawn Fain said the union preferred either Walz or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
The big question: What does Walz mean for the ticket?
Vice presidents don’t typically mean much from an electoral perspective, but the Harris campaign hopes Walz will balance out Vance’s appeal in the Midwest and Rust Belt.
Walz comes from a traditionally blue state that Trump has sought to turn red. No Republican has won in Minnesota in more than 50 years, though the polls had tightened when Biden was in the race.
Walz won reelection for governor of Minnesota with 52 percent of the vote.
A new NBC survey found that 71 percent of respondents had never heard of Walz, so the race is on to define him.
CNN election analyst Harry Enten said Walz doesn’t move the needle either way — there are “zero signs he helps electorally” and “zero signs he hurts electorally.”
NBC election analyst Steve Kornackiquestioned Walz’s Midwest appeal:
“The idea that he’s got this automatic appeal with these small town areas … you don’t see it in what he actually did on the ballot.”
Kornacki pointed to Walz’s recent election history:
All Democratic governors in 2022 outperformed Biden’s 2020 numbers in their home states, but Walz did so by the smallest margin.
Walz didn’t move the needle in the Minnesota counties that have swung the most toward Trump in recent years.
MEANWHILE …
Republicans are licking their chops, believing Harris erred in picking a running mate that can easily be tied to the left flank of the Democratic Party.
Walz was one of 17 Democrats who voted to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing a subpoena pertaining to the “Fast and Furious” program. Holder led Harris’s search for a running mate.
Walz was one of 19 Democrats to back the GOP version of a bill extending the Bush tax cuts in 2012.
But Republicans believe Walz’s tenure as governor has been something else entirely.
They’re coming out swinging at Walz over the Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis in 2020 that ended in the third precinct’s police station being burned to the ground.
The Minnesota National Guard said it was late in receiving directions on how to respond to the unrest. Walz later called the response an “abject failure.”
Harris promoted a bail fund for those arrested in the protests.
Vance, who is shadowing Harris and Walz across the battlegrounds this week, attacked the Democratic ticket from Philadelphia.
“They make an interesting tag team because Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.”
The Republican National Committee has been circulating a video of Walz saying Democrats must never “shy away from our progressive values.” He said that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”
Republicans also said they’d hone in on:
Minnesota’s COVID lockdowns
Bills Walz signed to make undocumented immigrants eligible for Minnesota driver’s licenses
Minnesota’s law allowing abortions until 24 weeks
Harris has sought to moderate from her liberal positions taken during the 2020 primary.
But Republican strategist Matt Wolking told The Evening Report that Walz is a “big gift” and will serve as a “goldmine” for opposition research.
“Harris just saddled herself with a running mate that confirms she isn’t walking away from those positions at all. The Democrat candidates for president and vice president are on camera describing themselves as radical, woke socialists. If Trump exercises some discipline and focus, he can run on making America normal and competent again.”
Harris and Walz are about to take the stage in Philadelphia, before embarking on trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Follow along live here.
Planned trips to North Carolina and Georgia may be postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby.
Perspectives:
The Hill: Walz will bring working class voters back into the fold.
New York: Harris and Walz must pivot to the center.
The 2024 election just had a “Sliding Doors” moment.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), the popular executive of the most important battleground state, was a finalist to be Vice President Harris’s running mate but she went with a blue state governor instead.
Political watchers note that Shapiro would not have guaranteed a victory in the Keystone State. But in a race that appears headed for the wire, it’s possible he could have moved the needle.
Notably, Harris passed over Shapiro after some on the left made the case against him because of his support for Israel and his criticism of the Pro-Palestinian protest movement.
The veepstakes turned nasty in its final days, with some Democrats alleging that criticism of Shapiro, who is Jewish, was rooted in anti-Semitism.
Vance took up that criticism from Philadelphia on Tuesday.
“They were worried about some of leaders of grassroots activists in their party wouldn’t take a Jewish nominee.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed those remarks in an exclusive interview with The Hill’s Mychael Schnell.
“I think that clearly was a major factor, is that she was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party. They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.”
Former Obama adviser Van Jones said on CNN Democrats need to take the criticism seriously.
“You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot, but there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there. And there has to be conversations about how much of what just happened is caving into some of these darker parts in the party. So that’s going to have to get worked out. It’s going to have to get talked through.”
A new Siena College poll that found Harris opening up a big lead in New York also had one startling statistic: Trump leads Harris among Jewish voters in New York, 50-49. Biden won 68 percent of the national Jewish vote in 2020.
Voters are at the polls for primary races in Missouri, Michigan, Kansas and Washington.
The top race on the docket will take place in Missouri, where Rep. Cori Bush (D) is fighting for her political life and trying to avoid becoming the second “Squad” member to lose in a primary this cycle.
Bush will face St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. A June poll found the candidates running neck-and-neck.
Democratic divisions over Israel are on full display in the contest, with Bush being one of a handful of Democrats who opposed a resolution of support for Israel.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) super PAC, which spent heavily to oust Bowman, has plowed millions into the effort to defeat Bush.
Bell has sought to appeal to moderates by casting Bush as a disruptive presence in Congress.
The St. Louis Dispatchendorsed Bell, saying of Bush:
“[She] has generally appeared less interested in working that system for the good of her constituents than attacking it on behalf of a small, hard-left klatch of lawmakers — ‘the Squad’ — who are good at getting headlines but bad at actually accomplishing anything.”
The winner will be the heavy favorite to win the deep blue district in November.
A few more races to watch:
A crowded field of Democrats are vying for the nomination to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is the biggest name in Washington, but actor Hill Harper, who left the ABC hit show “The Good Doctor” to campaign, is in the running. The winner is expected to face Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in a race that could determine which party holds a majority in the Senate.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (Wash.), one of only two remaining Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump, is on the ballot along with six other contenders. MAGA is eager to see all of the “Impeachment 10” out of office. Trump endorsed NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler in the race. The top two finishers in the open primary will face off in November.
Trump has endorsed the three leading GOP candidates running to replace term-limited Gov. Mike Parson (R) in Missouri. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel are seen as the favorites in the field of nine.
Stock market rebounds but economic worries persist
The stock market bounced back Tuesday, but fears remain about the strength of the underlying economy.
The Dow added nearly 300 points and the Nasdaq added 1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei index had its best day since 2008, after having its worst day since 1987 on Monday. The Korean stock market rose sharply a day after circuit breakers kicked in to stop panic selling.
Still, last week’s soft jobs report and tech concerns are weighing heavily on the minds of economists.
Many fear that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell should have cut interest rates already, or that he should implement an emergency rate cut now.
Most Popular
Comments / 0