Kamala Harris selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her presidential campaign.

The Harris campaign officially made the announcement on Tuesday morning in an email statement.

"I am proud to announce that I've asked Governor Tim Walz to be my running mate. One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep," Harris said in a statement. "It's personal. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his own. We are going to build a great partnership. We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election."

Walz said in a post on X that being selected as Harris' running mate was the "honor of a lifetime."

"I'm all in," he wrote. "Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what's possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school."

Harris and Walz will make their first joint campaign appearance together on Tuesday in Philadelphia. It is the first stop in a five-day run through battleground states, the campaign said.

Harris selected Walz out of a field that included Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Walz, 60, is the third Minnesota state official to be selected as a vice presidential candidate in the Democratic Party, following Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale . Both were elected to office alongside former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter .

President Joe Biden carried Minnesota by more than 7% of the vote in 2020, or 233,012 votes. A Republican presidential candidate has not won Minnesota in more than 50 years.

Walz was elected the 41st governor of Minnesota in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He was born in Nebraska and served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, rising to the rank of command sergeant.

Harris received 99% of votes from participating delegates in a virtual roll call by the Democratic Party on Monday. Her nomination is slated to be made official ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago beginning Aug. 19.

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama praised the selection in a joint statement .

"Like Vice President Harris, Governor Walz believes that government works to serve us. Not just some of us but all of us," the statement read. "That's what makes him an outstanding governor, and that's what will make him an even better vice president, ready on day one."