Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate after interviewing Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona at her Washington, D.C., residence on Sunday.
Walz has become a favourite of progressives and youth groups who enjoy his attacks on Trump.
At 60, Walz is just a year older than Harris, but critics say he looks much older, which could be a liability to a campaign that is rebounding from Biden’s departure over concerns about his age.
Walz responded to this criticism on X, saying he looks the way he does because he was a high school teacher and “supervised the lunchroom for 20 years. You do not leave that job with a full head of hair. Trust me.”
An official phone call has not been placed to inform the Minnesota governor but he is expected to accept.
Harris met Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for 90 minutes on Friday and also met candidates virtually, sources said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the other candidates in contention for the job.
The choice of a running mate is one of the most consequential decisions of Harris’ political career, as she hastily pulls together a campaign to challenge Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month.
