Kamala Harris’ final test in selecting her running mate included meetings with her three top contenders on Sunday to hear what approach they would take as vice president.
Gov. Tim Walz appeared to pass the test, securing his spot on the ticket alongside the vice president by promising he has no loftier aspirations and is ready to take a backseat role.
The 60-year-old Minnesota progressive is just a year older than Harris but has already served six terms in the House of Representatives and is nearly halfway through his second term as governor.
The answer that likely secured Walz the job over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was to insist, “I’m not looking for anything else.”
“I’m at the end of my career,” said Walz, a person involved in the investigation process. He told Politico“This is not about me. This is about America’s working families.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s final interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday helped cement her decision to choose him as her running mate.
Walz and Harris appeared together for the first time as running mates at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night.
The three leading candidates for vice president, Walz, Shapiro and Kelly, went to the vice presidential residence at One Observatory Circle in Washington, D.C., over the weekend for their final interviews for the job.
The former teacher and football coach from the Midwest was selected from a handful of other middle-aged white men being considered to serve as Harris’ No. 2. Along with Shapiro and Kelly, other contenders included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Gov. Andy Beshear.
Walz served nearly two and a half decades in the Army National Guard before entering Congress and then moving into the Minnesota governor’s mansion in January 2019.
The father of two said during his conversation with Harris on Sunday: “If I have to go through a brick wall, if I have to do hard things, I’m willing to do them because I’m not looking for anything else.”
His low-ego attitude toward the vice presidency was music to Harris’s ears, according to those who helped with the vetting process.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (left) and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly (right) also interviewed with Harris at One Observatory Place in Washington, DC, on Sunday but were not selected.
Harris has played a low-profile role in Biden’s presidency so far, letting him lead, and she wanted someone with a similar approach.
Moreover, Walz “was probably the one person who didn’t have any organized groups working against him,” an aide to another vice presidential candidate revealed.
“Progressives see him as a reliable guy. He has bipartisan credibility that moderates respect,” one aide told Politico.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, is a staunch supporter of Israel and could anger the pro-Gaza wing of the Democratic Party. Kelly, meanwhile, has faced criticism from union leaders and workers.
Walz also gained national recognition after being the first to call the Republican ticket “bizarre,” sparking an entire news cycle of Democrats using the word to describe Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).