Vice President Kamala Harris shocked the world when she picked progressive firebrand Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota to be her running mate in the 2024 Presidential election. Conventional political wisdom would say that Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was the candidate whom Harris was leaning towards. For starters, Harris announced that her first rally with her running mate would be in Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania, and Shapiro seemed to be making scheduling changes in order to attend. Thankfully, the conventional political wisdom was wrong.
Instead of picking the base-shattering Shapiro, who has made abhorrent statements about the current genocide in Gaza—including comparing pro-Palestinian protestors to the Klu Klux Klan—Harris chose a person from outside of the establishment. Tim Walz is a great candidate for a multitude of reasons. Most obvious is his great track record as Governor, which included legislation that ensured universal school meals for all Minnesotans. Walz is also a great candidate for his foreign policy opinions which heavily deviate from both Governor Shapiro and President Biden. Instead of denouncing those exercising their rights under the Constitution to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza, Walz stated that “[protestors] have every right to be heard… Palestinian civilians being caught in this… has got to end” and called the uncommitted voters, the movement to write “uncommitted” on the Democratic primary ballot to protest Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, “civically engaged”.
Walz is clearly more in line with the average Democratic voter on key issues, including Gaza—where over 70% of Democrats agree there should be a ceasefire—than perhaps any other Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidate in modern American history. The only downside to Tim Walz, in the eyes of some Democrats, is that he is not the main name on the ticket. Instead of Tim Walz, a genuinely good man and respected statesman, leading the party in the 2024 election, Democrats are stuck with an uninspiring and thoroughly establishment candidate who was not chosen by voters in a free and open primary. If there was an open primary, it seems doubtful that a candidate who has barely made it above 40% in terms of approval rating (at the time of writing) would easily secure the nomination. At the very least, Harris would have had to present an appealing case for why she should be selected by Democrats. Instead, Harris has hidden from the media and used ambiguity surrounding her political positions to her advantage. If Harris is not forced to commit to progressive policies openly, there will be little public backlash if she betrays progressives.
In an alternate world where Tim Walz ran in a primary election against Kamala Harris and won, Democrats might have finally had a candidate who truly represents them. ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ might have become ‘Presidential term at Walz’s’. If Harris is smart, she will adopt the populist policies of Tim Walz. Presenting an alternative to the working class, whom the Democrats have lost in recent election cycles, may be exactly what Harris needs to win over Jill Stein and Cornel West voters in 2024. Alternatively, Kamala could simply step aside and make way for President Tim Walz, a politician who would truly change America for the better.
J.D. Hester is an American writer born and raised in Arizona. He has previously written for Antiwar.com and CounterCurrents.org. You can find him on his Substack, Hester Unfiltered. You can send him an email at [email protected]. Follow him on X.
