Just over two weeks after President Joe Biden announced his historic decision to drop out of his re-election campaign, the November 2024 ballot has been filled.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was endorsed by the commander-in-chief the same time he decided to finish his current term and retire, has been chosen by delegates to be the Democratic party’s nominee. This week, she also selected Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, to join her campaign as her running mate.
The two will go up against former GOP president Donald Trump and his own recently chosen running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, come Election Day. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also remains in the running as a third-party, independent candidate.
Walz is a conservative’s nightmare but could also prove to gain traction among liberal voters this fall. Before entering into politics, he taught social studies, coached football, and advised gender confused high school students. In 2006, he won a seat in Congress and served six terms as a representative. Walz successfully ran for governor in 2018, then won his re-election campaign in 2022.
In response to the news that he was now going to join Harris’ efforts on the campaign trail, left-wing organizations applauded his liberal track record, which NextGen Pac described as having promoted “significant legislation” which favors “climate justice” and “abortion rights.” Additionally, Walz has become a champion for gun control, despite having previously received an endorsement from the pro-Second Amendment National Rifle Association.
But liberals aren’t the only ones who have something to say about Harris’ pick for running mate. The Republican National Committee (RNC) reacted to the news by describing the Minnesota governor as a “far-left radical” who is “weak on border security.” The RNC further criticized the Democrat by calling him “soft on crime,” “a climate radical” who opposes fossil fuels and “extremely woke.”
Notably, Walz is also being widely criticized by conservative pro-lifers, who are emphasizing his staunch support for abortion on demand. In 2023, he signed the first law protecting abortion access since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
This bill was followed up with another in which he effectively designated Minnesota as a so-called “sanctuary state” for abortion, welcoming citizens who needed to cross state lines to kill their unborn babies and preventing Minnesota authorities from arresting them for doing so.
