Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Aug 6 selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate, choosing a progressive policy champion and a plain speaker from America's heartland to help win over rural, white voters.

- 

"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 said in a statement.

Mr Walz, a 60-year-old US Army National Guard veteran and former teacher, said on social media platform X that it was "the honour of a lifetime" to join Ms Harris' campaign. "I'm all in... So, let's get this done, folks!" he said.

Mr Walz was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the US House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018.

As governor, he has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for Minnesota workers.

Mr Walz has long advocated for women's reproductive rights but also displayed a conservative bent while representing a rural district in the US House, defending agricultural interests and backing gun rights.

Ms Harris is adding a popular Midwestern politician whose home state votes reliably for Democrats in presidential elections but is close to Wisconsin and Michigan, two battleground states seen as crucial in deciding the 2024 election.

She chose Mr Walz over Mr Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, who had been seen as essential to delivering his state.

Ms Harris, 59, became the Democratic Party's standard-bearer after President Joe Biden, 81, ended his re-election campaign under party pressure in July.