ATLANTA — For days, mystery surrounded who Vice President Kamala Harris would pick as her running mate on the Democratic ticket.
With Sen. J.D. Vance as former President Donald Trump’s pick for the Republicans, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro appeared to be the front runner for Harris. Instead, she chose a different Democratic governor.
Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday and the pair made their first appearance together at a rally in Philadelphia. Harris and Walz were scheduled to appear in Savannah on Friday before they postponed it for Tropical Storm Debby.
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Following the news, Democrats tell Channel 2′s Justin Farmer they’re pleased with the choice of Walz, and so are some Republican voters.
While analysts say it’s probably safe to say most Americans didn’t know who Walz was outside of Minnesota, he got the nod to run with Harris, and reactions have been positive.
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“He’s virtually unknown to most voters outside of Minnesota,” Kerwin Swint, a professor at Kennesaw State University, told Channel 2 Action News. “Particularly when most people thought Josh Shapiro would be the smarter choice...put[ting] her in position to carry Pennsylvania, which is crucial in this race, and the other thing is Shapiro is moderate compared to Walz to balance the ticket demographically.”
Still, Democrats are lining up behind Harris’ choice, including U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
“I think that Gov. Walz is a very strong choice, he is an accomplished governor, military veteran, [I’m] looking forward to bringing him to Georgia,” Ossoff said.
Several reports following Harris’ introducing Walz as her running mate show Republicans are pleased with Harris’ choice, strategically, because they believe they can point to a far-left record.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a statement, saying “It was Harris’ first major decision as the nominee and she caved to the pro-Hamas contingency within the Democratic Party. Tim Walz reinforces Kamala Harris’ biggest weaknesses: crime and immigration.”
Walz has already joined Harris on the campaign trail and will have his larger introduction as the VP nominee in two weeks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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