Harris chooses Minnesota governor as vice presidential running mate

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced the governor of Minnesota as her running mate for the Nov. 5 general election, capping a dayslong high-stakes selection process ahead of her tour through seven battleground states this week.

Harris named Gov. Tim Walz, a former six-term lawmaker, social studies teacher and American football coach, as her vice presidential pick hours before they made their first joint appearance at a rally in Pennsylvania, the first leg of her five-day tour, amid a tight race against former President Donald Trump.

"I am proud to announce that I've asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his. It's great to have him on the team. Now let's get to work," she added.

The Midwestern governor said that he is "all in" for the campaign.

"It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign," he wrote on X. "I'm all in. Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what's possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school."

The announcement ended days of grueling considerations over finalists' impact on her campaign and the electoral map, as well as their chemistry with Harris. The finalists included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Though other finalists had a stronger competitive edge, like a battleground advantage, Walz is known to be a loyalist to the Biden-Harris administration, with his folksy demeanor, progressive policy records and other records expected to help Harris' campaign.

Walz, a plain-spoken politician, got into the spotlight when he described Trump and other Republicans as "weird" in recent media appearances. That expression has been popularized in political discourse both online and offline during this election cycle.

At the rally in Philadelphia, Harris said that with Walz, she will "fight for the future."

"Our campaign is not just a fight against Donald Trump. Our campaign ... this campaign is a fight for the future."

Walz was first elected the state's governor in 2018 and won reelection in 2022. He served as a congressman representing Minnesota's first district from 2007 through 2019. He previously served in the Army National Guard and worked as a public school teacher and football coach.

During his time as governor, he made a range of achievements, including providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, cutting taxes for the middle class and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers, according to his office's website.

Trump's campaign criticized Walz as a "dangerously liberal extremist," reports said.

Harris' veepstakes had raised concerns about fissures within the party as donors, different wings of the party and others called for their preferred candidates to be on the national ticket at a time when Harris sought unity to rally her party ranks and supporters behind her.

In a virtual five-day roll call vote that ended Monday, Harris received 99 percent of delegate votes to officially clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. The vote was arranged ahead of the Democratic National Convention, set for Aug. 19-22, because of Ohio's Aug. 7 deadline for parties to submit the names of their candidates. (Yonhap)