By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as her running mate.
With the 2024 Presidential Election now only three months away, experts are examining the impact the pick could have on the race.
Gov. Walz, who is 60 years old, assumed office in 2019. Before that, he was a five-term Congressman from 2007-2019 in a district that leans red. He’s a former public school teacher, high school football coach and served 24 years in the Army National Guard.
Now, as the presumptive Democratic nominee for Vice President, experts are weighing in on what Walz can bring to the table for Harris.
“He’s from the Midwest. He can talk to people who live there in the language they speak, which is very important for recapturing those Rust Belt states that are absolutely critical for Democrats to retake the presidency,” said Todd Belt. “I think what’s actually really most important about this pick, is that he likes to talk about policy. He likes to explain policy and explain why it makes sense. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns really hadn’t done that and they were just attacking each other,” said Belt.
Belt believes Walz is a safe pick for Democrats.
“There weren’t a whole lot of red flags about him, not a whole lot of material that can be dug up in the opposition research. I think that’s also something that they liked. They wanted this to be a normal, regular pick. They didn’t want to throw somebody in there who was going to drag the ticket down,” said Belt.
There is division within the Democratic party over the war in Gaza and support for Israel. It will be a major issue that can impact energy and turnout. Polls show the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza as top issues for young voters.
Belt says he’ll be keeping a close eye on energy and unity, especially among younger voters, between now and November.
“Is this going to energize the Democratic Party? Are people going to really be enthusiastic going into the convention? Is it going to give them the bounce that they need to really pull ahead of Trump? They pulled even, will this pick help to get the party reunified? Young voters are a real key part of that. And that’s the group that I’m really going to be looking at,” said Belt.
The Trump-Vance campaign was quick to attack Walz over his handling of the Minneapolis riots in 2020.
“Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020 and then the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail,” said JD Vance on the campaign trail Tuesday.
During a rally in Philadelphia, PA Tuesday afternoon, Vance criticized Walz as “one of the most far-left radicals in the United States government at any level” calling his record a joke. “I think that what Tim Walz’s selection says is that Kamala Harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party, which is what she always does,” Vance added.
Vance said he looks forward to debating with Walz once he officially becomes the VP nominee after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
Harris and Walz are campaigning Tuesday evening in Philadelphia to kick off a multi-state campaign tour in seven key battleground states.