Vice President Kamala Harris has seriously shaken up the 2024 presidential election ever since President Joe Biden stepped down from running and Harris announced her candidacy. So far, Harris’ presidential campaign has injected energy and hope into the Democratic party as she makes her bid for the highest office in the country. But one question on everyone’s mind throughout all this has been: Who would Harris choose to be her VP?
For months, when Biden was the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, Harris was presumed to be his running mate once again. However, on July 21, when Biden stepped down and Harris stepped up, it was unclear who would take over her former spot on the ticket. In the time since then, many names began floating around in conversation, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and more.
As a VP herself, Harris knows all too well how the right running mate can significantly help a presidential campaign. And based on the recent performance of J.D. Vance — the running mate to former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump — in the press and on social media, it’s also evident how a VP pick can harm a campaign. So, Harris had a big decision on her hands.
On Aug. 6 — just hours after Harris became the official nominee of the Democratic party — she made her VP decision, selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, according to reports from CNN and the Associated Press. Soon after these reports came out, Harris took to social media to make the announcement official.
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @timwalz to be my running mate,” she wrote in part of her announcement post on Instagram. “We are going to build a great partnership. We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”
Her official campaign platform, Kamala HQ, also released a fancam edit of Walz that had many Gen Zers immediately fired up over the VP pick.
Walz might not be as well known of a name as Whitmer or Buttigieg, especially among Gen Z. But the Midwestern Democrat has been a champion for many of the issues young voters are prioritizing in this election, including reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and social welfare. The second-term governor previously served 12 years in Congress; before that, he was a high school teacher and football coach.
This newly minted president and VP ticket still has a long way to go on their joint quest to the White House. In the coming weeks, they’ll be hitting the road to campaign across the country, then they’ll head to the Democratic National Convention, taking place Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago. From there, it will be months of campaigning against Trump and Vance until Election Day on Nov. 5. At least now, Harris won’t have to do this all alone.