United States Vice President, Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate in the November Presidential election.
Harris will face-off against Republican, ex-President Donald Trump.
The 60-year-old Walz emerged as a dark horse contender and has now been picked over other high-profile names, especially Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro, and Arizona Senator, Mark Kelly, who dominated the early discussions.
Over the last week, the Minnesota governor saw his profile rise considerably, especially after a viral interview in which he derided some Republicans as “weird”, a line of attack later adopted by national Democrats.
Many also saw Walz as a safer choice for Harris due to his liberal bonafides and the fact that some of the other contenders had come under fire from certain segments of the left.
Shapiro received heavy scrutiny recently over his response to pro-Palestinian protests that emerged in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, over which both he and Kelly drew the ire of union leaders.
Adding to Walz’s appeal is the fact that he hails from a Midwestern state that Trump has increasingly set his sights on flipping.
Though Biden won Minnesota in 2020 by seven points, and no Republican has won the presidential race there in more than 50 years, Trump and his running mate JD Vance have stepped up their efforts to campaign in the state