Why Kamala Harris should pick Tim Walz as running mate | Mehdi Hasan

Have you seen the touching images from March 2023, of the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, being hugged by a group of elementary school kids after signing into law a bill that provided them with free school meals?

Or the fun clip from September 2023, of Walz with his daughter Hope laughing and screaming on a ride at the Minnesota State Fair?

How about the viral video of Walz on MSNBC last week, mocking Donald Trump, JD Vance and the Maga Republicans as “weird people”?

That video has had more than 4.6m views on Twitter/X alone and, per Politico , is credited with the Democrats’ new shift “toward a more gut-level vernacular that may better capture how many voters react to far-right rhetoric” of the Trump/Vance variety.

Kamala Harris herself has now borrowed Walz’s lingo and is also calling her opponents “weird”, while Walz is all over our television screens , bolstering the vice-president’s candidacy and playing “attack dog” against the Trump/Vance Republican ticket.

I’ll be honest: last month, I would have struggled to pick Walz out of a lineup.

This month? I’m Walz-pilled . I have watched dozens of his interviews and clips. And I’m far from alone. He has an army of new fans across the liberal-left: from former Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign co-chair Nina Turner , to one-time Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke , to gun-control activist David Hogg . “In less than 6 days, I went from not knowing who Tim Walz is,” joked writer Travis Helwig on X, “to deep down believing that if he doesn’t get the VP nod I will storm the capitol.”

According to Bloomberg , the Harris campaign has narrowed down its “top tier” of potential running mates to three “white guy” candidates: Walz (hurrah!), plus the Arizona senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro.

Both Kelly and Shapiro have their strengths – and both represent must-win states for the Dems. Allow me, however, to make the clear case for Walz.

First, there’s his personality. The 60-year-old governor would bring energy, humor and some much-needed bite to the Democratic presidential ticket. There’s a reason why his videos have been going viral in recent days. Tim Kaine he ain’t. Pick the charismatic and eloquent Walz and you have America’s Fun Uncle ready to go.

Then, there’s his résumé. A popular midwest governor from a rural town . A 24-year veteran of the army national guard. A high school teacher who coached the football team to its first state championship . It’s almost too perfect!

Finally, there’s his governing record. You will struggle to find a Democratic governor who has achieved more than Walz in the space of a single legislative session . Not Shapiro. Not JB Pritzker of Illinois. Not even Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

Policy wins aside, Walz also comes with less political baggage than his two main rivals and is, therefore, much less likely to divide the party

In May 2023, Barack Obama, of all people, shared a piece from the MinnPost on X, which laid out Walz’s very successful – and very social-democratic – legislative record in the North Star state:

“Democrats codified abortion rights, paid family and medical leave, sick leave, transgender rights protections, drivers licenses for undocumented residents, restoration of voting rights for people when they are released from prison or jail, wider voting access, one-time rebates, a tax credit aimed at low-income parents with kids, and a $1bn investment in affordable housing including for rental assistance.”

Got that? Walz basically did Biden’s “ Build Back Better ” on steroids, despite only a single-seat majority in the state senate.

But wait, there’s more!

“Also adopted were background checks for private gun transfers and a red-flag warning system to take guns from people deemed by a judge to be a threat to themselves or others. DFL lawmakers banned conversion therapy for LGBTQ people, legalized recreational marijuana, expanded education funding, required a carbon-free electric grid by 2040, adopted a new reading curricula based on phonics, passed a massive $2.58bn capital construction package and, at the insistence of Republicans, a $300m emergency infusion of money to nursing homes.”

Democrats at the national level can only dream of such progressive legislative victories.

Policy wins aside, Walz also comes with less political baggage than his two main rivals and is, therefore, much less likely to divide the party.

Think about it. Democrats can have Tim Walz on the ticket, who called the anti-war, pro-Palestinian ‘uncommitted’ movement “civically engaged” and praised them for “asking for a change in course” and “for more pressure to be put on” the White House, or they can have Josh Shapiro , who called for a crackdown on anti-war, pro-Palestinian college protesters and even compared them to the KKK .

They can have Walz on the ticket, who has reportedly “emerged among labor unions as a popular pick” after signing “into law a series of measures viewed as pro-worker” including banning non-compete agreements and expanding protections for Amazon warehouse workers, or they can have Mark Kelly , who opposed the pro-labor Pro Act in the Senate.

Related: Kamala Harris still needs to define herself – but she is the ultimate anti-Trump candidate | Arwa Mahdawi

They can have Walz, who guaranteed students in Minnesota not just free breakfasts but free lunches , or Shapiro, who has courted controversy in Pennsylvania with his support for school vouchers .

They can have Walz, who calls his Republican opponents “weird” and extreme, or Kelly, who calls his Republican opponents “good people” who are “working really hard”.

This isn’t rocket science. Walz is the obvious choice. Not only is he the ideal “white guy” running mate for Harris, against both Trump and Vance, but he is already doing the job on television and online, lambasting Vance in particular over IVF treatment and insisting he mind his “ own damn business ”.

And you know who is paying attention to all this? “Weird” Donald Trump, who was especially infuriated after Walz attacked him for cosying up to Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán on … Fox.

“Why did Fox News put up Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, where I am leading?” the former president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “They make me fight battles that I shouldn’t have to fight!”

Has there ever been a better endorsement for a Democratic vice-presidential nominee?

• Mehdi Hasan is the founder and editor-in-chief of the new media company Zeteo