As news reports Monday evening revealed that Kamala Harris’s newly-materialized presidential campaign is seriously considering Gov. Tim Walz among a short list of potential running mates, Minnesota’s top elected Republican told Alpha News a hypothetical Harris-Walz ticket would be a ridiculous, but not surprising pairing.
A Wall Street Journal reporter on Monday evening shared on social media that Minnesota’s two-term Democratic governor was one of at least six candidates the Harris campaign is vetting as she considers her options for a vice presidential pick.
“Harris’ campaign has requested vetting materials from potential VPs, including Cooper (NC), Kelly (AZ), Shapiro (PA), Whitmer (MI), Walz (MN) + Pritzker (IL), according to a person familiar,” Ken Thomas, the White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, wrote just after 8 p.m. on Monday. “Beshear told CNN he hasn’t been asked to submit info at this point.”
Walz indicated during live interviews with MPR News and then CNN on Monday that he was open to the opportunity to run alongside Harris this fall and serve as her vice president, should she receive the nomination and then win the presidential election.
“She said ‘I’m gonna earn this governor, we’re gonna work together,’” Walz told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday evening. “I’m really proud, because not too long ago she became the first vice president or president to stand inside a Planned Parenthood clinic when she came to visit (St. Paul).”
A number of media outlets were also reporting Monday evening the vice president has secured the delegates she needs to clinch the nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention. That news came just 24 hours after President Joe Biden announced on social media that he would suspend his campaign and endorse Harris on the top of the ticket this November.
Congressman Tom Emmer told Alpha News that the Democrats’ “rush to endorse Kamala Harris tells Minnesotans they’re okay with invalidating the votes of 14 million people who selected Joe Biden to be their nominee if it means a chance to continue their radical takeover of America for another four years.”
Emmer, a five-term member of Congress from Delano, serves as majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, making him the third ranking Republican in that chamber. He has been a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump during Trump’s third campaign for president dating back to last winter when Trump was considered a frontrunner during the Republican primary.
Emmer told Alpha News that voters in Minnesota and across the country shouldn’t be surprised Harris is considering Walz — who serves as the chair for the Democratic Governors Association — as a potential running mate.
“It’s no wonder Gov. Walz is on the shortlist,” Emmer said. “He has tried to turn Minnesota into Kamala Harris’ home state of California. He’s an empty suit who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
