Nancy Pelosi says Democrats ‘thrilled’ with new Harris-Walz ticket – National
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi says Democrats are ‘thrilled’ that Minnesota governor Tim Walz joined the American vice president Kamala Harris presidential campaign as a running mate, calling the party’s energy “explosive.”
Pelosi spoke to Global News as she left the MSNBC studios in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, a day after Walz has been officially announced as the Democratic vice presidential candidate.
“He’s just great,” Pelosi said when asked about Walz, who previously served with her in Congress. “The members (of the Democratic caucus) are so thrilled.”
“He brings vision, he brings values, he brings strategic thinking, but he also brings a lot of friendship.”
Harris, who won the Democratic nomination on Monday, just over two weeks after US President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, faced enormous pressure to choose a running mate who would not squander the momentum she has enjoyed since announcing her candidacy.
The warm reception she received Tuesday night at the Philadelphia rally, where Harris and Walz made their debut as running mates, suggested she had succeeded. Nancy Pelosi seemed to agree, noting that “the whole dynamic is different” compared to the final days of Biden’s campaign.
“My daughter was at the rally in Philadelphia last night and she said it was just explosive,” Nancy Pelosi told Global News on Wednesday. “The young people, everyone, are so happy.”
Asked whether she believes Democrats have a winning campaign under Harris and Walz, Pelosi said: “Oh, we have to win. There’s no question about that.”
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Walz served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years before running for governor of Minnesota in 2018.
A 24-year veteran of the National Guard, Walz rose to prominence in Congress as an advocate for veterans and agriculture issues, earning particular praise for helping to build bipartisan consensus on veterans’ health and education benefits during then-President Donald Trump’s controversial presidency.
Pelosi said veterans’ issues in particular are “a national and global priority” for Democrats.
Walz was first elected in 2006, as part of the freshman class that helped Democrats win the House majority. That majority then elected Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, making her the first woman to hold the office.
Nancy Pelosi has continued to wield her power among Democrats since leaving the House speakership last year. She reportedly had private conversations with Biden that helped convince him to end his reelection bid after weeks of resistance, opening the door for Harris to replace him.
As Harris weighed who to choose as her running mate, The Associated Press, Reuters and other outlets reported Wednesday that Pelosi — who has maintained she has no preference and will not provide input into the selection process — had endorsed Walz.
According to the US media, this may have helped put Walz ahead of other more prominent candidates, such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Walz also saw his media profile increase after he was credited with calling Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, “weirdos”.
After rallying voters in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Harris and Walz launched their first cross-country campaign blitz on Wednesday, traveling to Wisconsin, Michigan and other key states that will be crucial to winning in November.
The Democrats narrowly crossed paths with Vance on the tarmac at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, where their respective planes landed as both campaigns close in on Midwestern voters. Vance and the Trump campaign held their own rally in Wisconsin and also followed the Harris-Walz team to Michigan later Wednesday for a competing event.
From Wednesday, FiveThirtyEight’s national poll average showed Harris leading Trump by nearly two points nationally, with even narrower leads in those battlegrounds.
Harris’ campaign says it raised $36 million from donors in the 24 hours after Walz announced her candidacy. That’s on top of the more than $310 million it raised in the past month, including $200 million in the first week after Biden endorsed Harris as his replacement.
“Kamala Harris needs to do everything she can to increase voter turnout among Democrats,” Jennifer Lawless, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Virginia, told Global News. “Donald Trump needs to do the same thing among Republicans. And then they need to fight for those who haven’t made up their minds yet.”
Democrats and political analysts have praised Walz’s selection, which is capable of communicating liberal policies in a way that speaks to independent voters in these swing states, which could make all the difference in such a tight race.
“Although Tim Walz has a very liberal political record in Minnesota, it’s the kind of liberal political record that I think addresses a lot of kitchen-sink issues,” said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
That record includes free school meals for children and free tuition for students from low-income families, paid family and medical leave, and health insurance coverage regardless of a person’s immigration status. Walz and Democratic lawmakers who control the state legislature have also passed laws protecting access to abortion and gender reaffirming care for transgender minors.
Trump, Vance and other Republicans have criticized that record, as well as what they say is Walz’s slow response to the sometimes violent protests that erupted in Minnesota in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as evidence that the new running mate is too liberal and even “far left.”
Earlier Wednesday, Pelosi called the criticism “puzzling.”
“Calling him left-wing is so unreal,” she told MSNBC in a television interview before his meeting with Global News.
“He’s in the center, he’s a Democrat from the heart of America.”
—With files from The Associated Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
