What Walz told Harris in his VP interview

In the dining room of the Naval Observatory on Sunday, Tim Walz sat across from his soon-to-be running mate for the biggest interview of his life. His message to Kamala Harris and her vetting team was one of deference.

“I'm at the end of my career. This is not about me. This is about America's working families,” Walz told Harris and the vetting team, according to a person involved in the vice presidential vetting process who was granted anonymity to discuss the private meetings.

“And if I have to run through a brick wall, if I have to do the hard things,” Walz added, “I'm willing to do it because I'm not angling for anything else. ”

That low ego, dutiful approach is exactly what Harris wanted to hear. After playing a similar role as loyal second to President Joe Biden for nearly four years, Harris wanted someone with the same approach.

The affable Midwesterner — a former football coach, soldier, high school teacher and Democratic congressperson from a red district — eclipsed his rivals on the strength of his biography, on the quiet diplomacy of his party allies and on his quick, easy rapport with Harris. While progressives lashed out at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for his staunchly pro-Israel position and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly drew criticism from labor leaders, Walz “was probably the person with no organized group working against him,” said one aide to another vice presidential prospect.

“Progressives see him as a trustworthy guy. He has bipartisan cred that moderates respect,” said the aide, granted anonymity to speak freely.

Walz’s leap from Minnesota governor to Harris’ running mate — faster than the time it takes to make hotdish — was a shock to many Democrats who hadn’t considered him among their deep bench of rising stars. It was a surprise for the Harris team, too, as the pair did not have any serious relationship before they opened up the vetting process two weeks ago, according to more than a dozen elected officials, Democratic strategists and operatives close to the vice presidential vetting process.

Democrats said Walz — one of three candidates Harris interviewed — complements Harris’ profile: A House guy with many friends who won a rural district by running as a moderate veteran, while Harris hails from deep-blue San Francisco, a former attorney general who maintains a tighter circle.

Unlike his rivals, Walz’s public try-out caught fire online, too. An early appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” went viral when he jabbed Republicans as “weird ," delighting Democrats with his simple, cutting takedowns.

But, above all, Walz’s deference to Harris played a central role in winning over the vice president and her team.

“He is going to be so just flabbergasted and delightfully excited about even being a candidate for vice president. He's not going to overshadow Kamala Harris,” said Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), who promoted Walz to the Harris campaign. “She's the commander-in-chief and that's the way he'll govern with her.”

Midwestern fan fiction

The Walz-for-Vice President chatter started in an unlikely corner. Before Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) floated some Midwestern fan fiction, suggesting that Harris replace Biden, alongside a far lesser-known running mate.

McCollum’s statement wasn’t coordinated with Walz or his team, and while it was greeted with smiles and a few chuckles, it still seemed far-fetched, according to one person directly familiar with the interaction. But when McCollum’s unlikely fantasy grew legs, she and other House colleagues quickly lined up behind him, taking their case directly to the Harris campaign — but with a light touch.

Midwestern House Democrats discussed releasing a letter endorsing their one-time colleague, but “we wanted to give her space to make her own pick,” said one member involved in the efforts. “Everyone was saying it privately, and clearly: Walz was a good guy.”

“He’s down-to-earth, a team player, and she wouldn’t have to be looking over her shoulder all the time with him,” the member added.

Another person who thought Walz was a good guy was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who repeatedly gushed about Walz to her colleagues, according to four people familiar with her remarks. She was even overheard telling a group of members after a Democratic caucus meeting not to “sleep on” Walz, one of those people said.

Pelosi was perhaps the most high-profile official in the quiet campaign that included dozens of House members as well as a few governors, labor leaders and donors, according to several people involved in the effort. Kuster, the centrist leader, and progressive leader Rep. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) were both working the phones to help boost the 12-year veteran of the House.

“I let it be known early on in the process,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who had once sparred with Walz for a prime spot on the House veterans affairs panel. “I didn't want him overlooked.”

Outside groups back Walz

Shapiro, ultimately the runner up, had the strong backing of unions in Pennsylvania, including the state’s teachers, but Walz drew more excitement from the national labor scene.

Shawn Fain, the fiery leader of the powerful United Auto Workers union, was the most public about it. He went on TV to proclaim that Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear were his union’s favorites, and to raise concerns about Shapiro’s backing of school vouchers.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, was helpful to Walz behind the scenes, three people close to the process said. Though Weingarten didn’t oppose Shapiro, with whom she has a warm longtime relationship, the union quietly made clear Walz was its favorite, the people said.

“By picking someone who was not coastal but who was in the middle of the country” and “plainspoken,” Weingarten said, Harris “sent a message about the working class being important.”

“He could relate to the worker,” said a person close to the Harris campaign. “It really was about rural America, being able to go to Wisconsin, the farmers, being able to go to Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania and talk to rural voters.”

Videos of Walz at state fairs caught the eye of the Harris’ team. There was a sense that he looks like a regular guy and could speak to voters who might not otherwise be open to Harris.

Donors, too, were impressed with Walz, some of whom had been watching his work in Minnesota for years. Last week, the governor appeared on a Zoom with 60 major Democratic donors and made a splash.

“There was so much organic excitement that just kept building,” said Pamela Shifman, president of the powerful donors group Democracy Alliance, who was on the Zoom. “Gov. Walz cares deeply about abortion rights and has made Minnesota a safe-haven state. And for our donors, codifying Roe v. Wade and enshrining abortion access is critical.”

Walz goes viral

Much of the Walz buzz was self-generated on the cable news circuit. With a round of hits on MSNBC and CNN, Walz popularized calling Republicans, including Sen. JD Vance, “weird.”

Walz repeated it at his first appearance as Harris’ running mate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, when referencing Republicans. “These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell,” the governor said to huge applause.

The initial “weird” reference marked a rhetorical shift from the high-minded, “threat to our nation,” that Biden leaned on to a more retable one that may have taken root in Walz’ early career as a social studies teacher and cafeteria monitor.

McCollum said her congressional colleagues “kept coming up to me and saying, ‘Did you see him on Morning Joe?’”

It also caught the ear of the Harris team, which started incorporating “weird” into their own campaign talking points. For them, it became clear that Walz could be an effective messenger, a defender and a bulldog against the Republican ticket.

“His stock turned with the ‘weird’ comment because they saw him as someone who could, in a Midwestern, folksy way, sum up everything that people think about Republicans that is so damning but doesn’t sound partisan,” said Morgan Jackson, a top adviser to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. “He did in one minute what six months of research didn’t surface.”

Clips from his cable news appearances zinged across the internet. Democratic fans unearthed other videos of Walz as governor, living out his suburban dad energy, including teasing his daughter about being a vegetarian — a clip that garnered more than 3 million views. Many fans on X declared themselves “Walz-pilled,” a flattering reference to the Matrix.

While McCollum might have been the first to float Walz’s name, she takes no credit for his potential ascension to the vice presidency.

“He earned this,” McCollum said. “He did this himself.”

Christopher Cadelago, Adam Cancryn and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.