Progressives Get Victory with Harris Pick of Walz for Vice President
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters after meeting with President Biden at the White House on July 3, 2024.
Liberal Democrats are all cheers after Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate Tuesday, hailing the decision as a victory for progressive policy ideals that will invigorate the party’s base heading into November’s elections.
Walz had built a moderate record during his 12 years representing a rural district in the U.S. House, championing a number of liberal social causes but also bucking his party on other prominent policy goals, including those related to gun reform and environmental protection.
Yet he has shifted to the left in more recent years, promoting gun restrictions and clean energy advances while winning praise from civil rights leaders for his handling of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
That transformation has not gone unnoticed. And in the wake of Walz’s ascension to vice presidential candidate, a long and growing list of progressive voices — from gun reformers and climate activists to leading labor unions and outspoken members of the liberal “squad” — wasted no time celebrating the pick as a win for the left.
The AFL-CIO lionized Walz as “a principled fighter and labor champion.” The Rev. Al Sharpton praised him as “a trusted partner.” And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Harris made “an excellent decision” in picking Walz.
“Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people,” she wrote on the social platform X.
Walz was on a shortlist of potential VP picks that also featured Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who had come under fire from some liberals for his track record on issues as diverse as labor organizing, law enforcement, and the Israel-Hamas War. With the selection of Walz, those liberals say Democrats have avoided the messy infighting that would have divided the party just as it needed to unite around the goal of defeating former President Trump.
“[What] we saw from the beginning of this process is that Walz and Shapiro looked like equally good candidates. But as time wore on, Walz kept on piling up victories — whether it’s in speeches or on cable news or on social media — while at the same time, Shapiro kept on piling up opposition,” Amar Shergill, a leader of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, told The Hill.
“[Walz] creates positivity wherever he goes, and that’s gold for a presidential ticket.”
Walz was not always such a darling of the left.
First elected to Congress in 2006, he carved his own lane on Capitol Hill by breaking with fellow Democrats on certain issues that were toxic in his right-leaning, agriculture-heavy district. That included his opposition to certain environmental protections promoted by the Obama administration and a resistance to tougher restrictions on guns. As recently as 2012, the National Rifle Association (NRA) had endorsed his candidacy.
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By Mike Lillis and Hanna Trudo