Common-sense teacher or dangerous radical? Democrats and Republicans battle to capitalize on Tim Walz’s vice-presidential bid

When you have a blank page in front of you, you can fill it with anything you like, be it a poem, a work of art, or a smudge. In political terms, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ new number two on the Democratic ticket for the presidential election, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is a blank page: a perfect stranger to 71% of voters. As such, the Democratic and Republican campaigns immediately went on the attack to fill in the gaps: Walz’s party are presenting him as a former high school teacher and a man of the people with a track record of applying common sense; the Republicans sense an opportunity and are attempting to portray him as a dangerous radical to try and regain the initiative lost with Harris’ entry into the race.

On Wednesday the Democratic candidates staged their first rallies in the Midwest, the rural America from which Walz hails, in Eau Claire (Wisconsin) and Detroit (Michigan). It was the first test of whether the governor’s traditional roots, military background and humurous personality will appeal to voters as the Harris campaign hopes, particularly among non-urban white males who are leaning toward Republican candidate Donald Trump in droves.

At both events the Democratic ticket received an enthusiastic response from an audience of over ten thousand people. They presented Walz’s credentials, as they had at their introductory rally in Philadelphia Tuesday night. Both recalled that for 12 years as a congressman he represented a Minnesota district that until then had voted staunchly Republican.

As the vice president and her number two began their tour of the swing states, Republican vice-presidential hopeful J.D. Vance was also speaking in Eau Claire. On Tuesday, also in Philadelphia, Vance accused Harris of having “bent the knee” to the progressive Democratic wing by selecting Walz and on Wednesday he questioned his rival’s military record. For his part, Trump called his favorite television network, Fox News, to declare himself “delighted” that Harris had chosen the governor and to lash out at the former high school teacher with the arguments repeated by his campaign urbi et orbe: that Harris has made a mistake with this “shocking selection” of a radical progressive who is only “a slightly smarter version of herself.” They are, the Republicans added on their social networks, “the most radical left duo in American history.”

Since Walz was announced Tuesday, Republicans have pounced on what they describe as the Minnesota governor’s fixation with the rights of transgender minors: during his tenure, that state has declared itself a haven for transgender people. They have also reproached him for the state issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Or the delay in sending in the National Guard during the riots in the city of Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, an African-American citizen, at the hands of white police officers in 2020. The latter attack, however, seems to have been neutralized with the release of a recording from that time in which Trump, in a phone call with governors, praises Walz’s handling of the situation.

Unforced error

Republicans are seeking to portray Walz as the first major unforced error of the Harris campaign and a preview of what his governing agenda may be. “This is the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ ticket,” the number three Republican in the House of Representatives, Tom Emmer, a Minnesota native, told digital media NOTUS. “He’s not good, and he’s totally incompetent. Under his leadership, taxes have skyrocketed, Minnesota violent crime is at record highs and Minnesota’s families are worse off than they were before he started. So this is consistent with Kamala Harris.”

Walz had not featured in the initial Democratic pools for the vice-presidential pick. In his 60s, he harbored no ambitions to go higher and considered himself in the twilight of his political career. But his description of the rival candidates as “just weird” in a television interview went viral among the party ranks and put him on the radar. A close review by the team charged with vetting the VP hopefuls last Friday added Walz to final shortlist, along with Arizona Sen. and former astronaut Mark Kelly and charismatic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, 51, one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party.

All three, the reports concluded, could help Harris win the White House. Kelly was endorsed by donors; Shapiro by much of the Democratic establishment. Walz was backed by labor unions and his former colleagues in Congress, including the influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The final decision rested in the hands of the vice president.

Harris spent Saturday reviewing the reports with her advisers at her National Observatory residence in northwest Washington. The conclusion was the same: all three were excellent, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Shapiro could bring in voters in Pennsylvania, the key swing state in the race. Kelly, his compelling personal story and votes in the border states.

Walz perfectly complemented Harris’ profile: the daughter of academics, of Jamaican-American and Indian descent, raised in progressive California and married to a well-to-do Jewish lawyer. His experience in Congress, where he forged a reputation for building bridges with all parties, compensated for Harris’ brief two-year stint in the Senate.

The vice president convened the three separately on Sunday at her residence. By then, the consensus on the team was that Kelly — criticized by the unions for his positions on workers’ rights and lacking the magnetism of his rivals — would only be chosen if none of the other two shone in their interviews.

The presidential candidate reiterated what she had already told her team throughout her two weeks as Joe Biden’s replacement at the head of the ticket. That she wanted a running mate who could help her win the election but above all someone who could be a partner in government, contributing ideas and management, but without overshadowing her. And that there would be political chemistry between the two.

Walz, with whom Harris had not had many dealings previously other than as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, passed the test. His plain-speaking, jocular manner endeared him to the vice president. She also appreciated his idea of defending Democratic accomplishments, rather than attacking Republican failures. And, above all, he reiterated from the outset his willingness to be just another member of the team, with no inclination to one day occupy the Oval Office.

The conversation with Shapiro did not flow so well. Harris, some of her advisors told U.S. media on condition of anonymity, wanted a team player. Someone who would stick to the low-key role she herself played during Biden’s tenure. Someone who would not overshadow her or become a de facto power, like Dick Cheney in the George W. Bush administration.

Shapiro, who has been compared to Barack Obama for his brilliant oratory and charisma, is not a man who fits that profile. Throughout the process he had made his ambition clear. And pressure from his supporters, which led Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker to briefly release a video endorsement last Friday before withdrawing it, backfired. Both, according to accounts, agreed that it was best to leave things as they were. He called the vice president’s team to admit he was having trouble leaving the governor’s post.

“It was clear that, after the interviews had concluded, she was leaning towards Walz for a host of reasons, probably chief among them rapport,” a person close to the vice president told NOTUS. “But he was also clear-eyed on the vision.”

For the moment, Walz’s selection has generated an avalanche of praise from the Democratic hierarchy, in communiques, and from the party’s grassroots on social media. One factor is decisive in gauging his popularity among supporters: money. According to the campaign, in the 24 hours since the announcement, over $36 million has been raised. Now it remains to be seen what the former high school teacher’s impact on the polls will be.

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