circleASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, casting a fierce advocate for public health and abortion rights.
Harris was said to have chosen Walz as her running mate as of Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports, and is set to formally announce the pair at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night.
With less than 100 days until Election Day, the two candidates have time to rally voters behind the new Democratic candidate, Walz, who has emerged as the front-runner for the post largely due to his record of championing abortion access, gender-affirming health care and a national coronavirus response.
Governor Walz was one of the first to institute COVID-19 shutdowns and social distancing policies, drawing criticism from state Republican lawmakers and then-President Trump. Tweeter “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” he shouted in April 2020. The state Republican Party subsequently removed him from office. Early response to COVID-19These include requiring government employees to wear masks and get vaccinated.
Walz, a two-term governor and 12-year congressman from eastern Minnesota, is used to battling Republicans despite hailing from a Republican-leaning eastern state. In his time in the House, he voted for Medicare drug price negotiations, supported medical research into marijuana and supported expanding VA research into the health effects of Agent Orange.
During Walz’s tenure as a congressman, the top donors to his campaigns were medical professionals and groups, including the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Healthcare Association and the American Optometric Association, according to campaign finance database Open Secrets.
In recent years, Governor Walz has positioned Minnesota as a Midwestern safe haven for access to abortion and gender-affirming care as surrounding states implement restrictions. Governor Walz signed a law codifying the right to abortion into the state constitution in 2023. That same year, he issued two separate executive orders aimed at protecting traveling patients and Minnesota health care providers from penalties for abortion and gender-affirming care enacted by other states.
On health care costs, the Walz administration implemented drug price transparency requirements; Defended the legislation This year, Minnesota passed a bill that caps insulin prices for emergency patients. A settlement was reached It has partnered with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to cap the company’s insulin prices in the state for at least five years.
Waltz Led efforts to reduce drug costs The governor also endorsed him last month. “From lowering prescription drug costs to helping Minnesotans get affordable health insurance, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to ensure Minnesotans have access to quality health care at affordable rates,” the governor said in a statement.
How Waltz sparked controversy
But Walz has also faced criticism for his progressivism and may be more vulnerable to Republican attack than some of the more moderate candidates who have emerged as potential vice presidential candidates.
“We must never run away from our progressive values,” Walz said on July 29. “What is socialism to one person is neighborly love to another.”
The remarks, made during a “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom campaign event, drew criticism from conservative pundits and think tank.
The Harris campaign said the “Guys in White” rallies ultimately raised about $4 million.
Walz has campaigned in recent weeks to slam Trump and Vance’s campaign, describing them and other Republican leaders as “just weirdos” at various events — a line that has circulated on social media and among other Democrats, including Harris herself.
“As you may be aware, Donald Trump has told outrageous lies about my record, and some of the things he and his running mate have said are, well, just bizarre,” she said at an event in Atlanta, Georgia, last week.
