Following Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat in the presidential election, Democrats are turning their attention to her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, as a potential factor in the loss.
Party members and people across social media are questioning whether his presence on the ticket hurt the campaign amid a series of controversies tied to his career and leadership record.
Picking Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro might go down as one of the worst political decisions in history.
— Peter Henlein (@SwissWatchGuy) October 30, 2024
Harris surrogate calls Walz pick a misstep
Last night, Harris-Walz surrogate Lindy Li, a member of the Democratic National Committee’s National Finance Committee and a Pennsylvania commissioner, spoke to Fox News about Harris’s choice of running mate.
“The blame game has started,” said Li, who suggested to Fox News that Walz’s selection may not have been the right choice to carry blue-wall states against President Donald Trump.
The blame game has begun inside Harris world.
Harris-Walz surrogate @lindyli, a member of the DNC National Finance Committee and PA commissioner tells me:
– Tim Walz was a bad choice of running mate, Shapiro would have carried the blue wall states.
Li: "People are wondering…— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 6, 2024
“One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate,” Li said. “A lot of people are saying … that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months.”
Li said she was “not sure how much Tim Walz contributed to the ticket” as the campaign was forced into “cleaning up” the governor’s “laundry list” of gaffes, Fox News reported.
“In the eyes of the American people, he was the governor who oversaw the protests in Minnesota and probably let it go on longer than he should have. So that has been seared in the minds of American people,” Li said.
During a campaign stop earlier this month, Vice President-elect JD Vance delivered sharp criticism of Walz’s handling of the riots.
“This precinct was … burned out because of Tim Walz’s failed leadership,” Vance declared, standing in front of the boarded-up building. “These officers were abandoned by their leaders. And now the guy responsible for this wants to be vice president.”
Li said Shapiro’s “moderate” record could have “signaled to the American people that [Harris] is not the San Francisco liberal that Trump said she was, but she went with someone actually to her left Minnesota.”
Former congressman calls Walz ‘a poor choice’
Gil Gutknecht, a five-term U.S. congressman who lost his seat to Walz in 2006, echoed some of those sentiments in an interview with Alpha News.
“Democrats are going to blame Tim Walz, and frankly, he certainly deserves some of it. But let’s not forget, it was Kamala herself who picked him,” Gutknecht said. “She had a pretty good list from which to choose, and she chose Tim Walz. I said at the time that it would ultimately prove her first decision as the nominee was her worst decision.”
Gutknecht also criticized the Harris campaign’s vetting process. “It was clear to me that he was not thoroughly vetted, so I can’t blame him for that. You have to blame the Harris campaign,” he said, citing Walz’s military record, his relationship with China, and his history of misstatements.
“It didn’t help at all when he said, ‘Yeah, I’m a knucklehead.’ That did not instill a whole lot of confidence in undecided voters,” Gutknecht said.
Walz’s future in question
As for Walz’s political future, Gutknecht was blunt.
“As we learn more about his relationship with China, which is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and subpoenaed by at least one congressional panel, and as we learn more and more about who paid for those trips to China, I honestly believe his political career for elective office is over,” he said.
Walz’s current term is set to conclude on Jan. 4, 2027.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
