Kamala Harris taps a progressive as a running mate

VICE-PRESIDENT Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, has chosen as a running mate a progressive Midwestern politician, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, signalling her intentions to highlight the ideological differences between the Democrats and the Republicans.

Many pundits had predicted that VP Harris would choose centrist Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania as the vice-presidential candidate. That would have made sense in terms of reaching out to moderate voters and winning the big battleground state of Pennsylvania.

But Harris faced opposition to the nomination of Shapiro from Muslim voters and members of her party’s progressive wing who rejected the Philadelphia governor, who is Jewish, because of his supposedly pro-Israel position.

Muslim voters, who constitute an important voting bloc in another battleground state, Michigan, have been critical of President Joe Biden for his support for Israel during its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, while Democratic progressives have called for cutting military aid to the Israelis.

Another centrist politician who was considered by VP Harris for the vice-presidential position was Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut with an impressive resume and knowledge of national security issues. And Arizona is another battleground state that the Democrats need to win.

On the other hand, Walz, 60, who represents a “blue” state, is considered to be a political star by progressive Democrats. His policies as governor have reflected his left-leaning positions, or what he calls “prairie populism”.

Hence, Walz signed legislation codifying abortion rights into state law, legalised marijuana, enacted new gun control laws, provided free lunch to public school students, created a paid leave programme and provided undocumented immigrants access to Minnesota driver’s licences. These policies have made him a target for attacks by Republicans, who have described him as a radical lefty.

Walz served in office when riots erupted in Minneapolis in May 2020 after a police officer murdered George Floyd. Republicans have criticised him over his handling of the arson and the looting that followed, including a police precinct that was set on fire. The critics argued that he was slow to respond to the riots. He deployed hundreds of National Guard troops only three days after Floyd’s murder.

In recent cable news appearances, Walz declared that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were “weird”, winning applause from many Democrats.

The Democrats seem to like the plain-speaking Midwesterner and former high-school teacher and football coach who had served in Congress for 12 years, including on the House of Representatives’ agriculture, veterans’ affairs and armed services committees, and who had also served 24 years in the Army National Guard where he was a command sergeant major.

While Harris is branded by Republicans as an elitist and liberal “San Francisco Democrat”, Walz with his folksier manners and populist positions could appeal to swing voters, including blue-collar workers in particular, in the Midwest and in several of the battleground states such as Pennsylvania.

Aides to the VP told reporters that one of the reasons she picked him for the ticket was that the two seemed to have developed a strong personal chemistry.