Harris and Walz made their first appearance together at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made their first appearance together Tuesday on the Democratic Party’s presidential campaign trail, kicking off a multi-day tour of swing states whose votes they hope to win in November.
Harris and Walz held a rally in Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, a state considered critical in defeating Republican Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance in a tight battle for electoral votes.
Speaking to more than 10,000 people at Temple University, Harris described Walz’s background as a former high school teacher and soccer coach, National Guard veteran and former congressman before predicting that in November he will have a new title: vice president of the United States.
“He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they ‘belong’ and then inspires them to dream bigger,” she said.
“There is no greater honor than to be on this team, helping Kamala Harris become the next president of the United States”, Walz said in a statement at the start of the rally.
“The same values I learned on the family farm and tried to instill in my students, I brought to Congress and the state capitol, and now Vice President Harris and I want to bring them to the White House,” he added.
Harris announced her choice of Walz’s candidacy earlier Tuesday afternoon. She noted that Walz has executive experience and could attract the votes of white, rural voters who have been more supportive of Trump in recent years.
“As a governor, coach, teacher and veteran, he has delivered results for working families just like his own,” Harris said in a statement released by her campaign.
Walz was elected to the House in a pro-Republican district in 2006 and served in Congress for 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
He has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, fighting climate change, enacting middle-class tax breaks and expanded paid leave for all working Americans.
Trump and Vance characterized their rivals as too liberal.
“This is the most radical leftist couple in American history,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Vance rebuked Walz for his actions during protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, saying Walz did nothing to control the riots.
“The biggest problem with the selection of Tim Walz is not Tim Walz himself. It’s what it says about Kamala Harris: when given the opportunity, she panders to the most radical elements of her party,” Vance told reporters in Philadelphia.
“She relied on her instincts in this case and chose an option that won’t alienate young people,” said Republican strategist Reena Shah.
Walz beat out popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in the race for the vice presidential nomination. Shapiro has faced sharp criticism from the left, especially from progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists, for his support for Israel and his negative attitude toward college protests sparked by the Gaza war.
Some Trump advisers were glad Harris didn’t pick Shapiro over concerns that he might have helped her win in Pennsylvania had he been on the ticket, one adviser said.
Harris and Walz will seek to build on the new momentum in the campaign that the vice president has maintained since becoming the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden declined to seek re-election in July. Harris has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in less than a month and changed the course of the race against Trump.
The White House said Harris and Biden chatted before she announced her choice in favor of Walz. The president also spoke with the Minnesota governor.
After their joint appearance in Philadelphia, Harris and Walz are planning a tour of critical swing states, including Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Vance is doing a similar tour, with stops in Michigan and Wisconsin scheduled for Wednesday.