The Electoral College has outlived its usefulness, according to Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz.
During a speech to donors at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s home on Tuesday in Sacramento, California, he said it should be replaced by a national popular vote.
The comments were quickly seized on by the Trump campaign, which accused Walz of laying the groundwork for claiming that a victory for the Republican candidate in November was illegitimate.
And Harris’ campaign distanced itself from any suggestion that she was planning to abolish the Electoral College.
But Walz’s comments highlight Democratic frustration with a system they believe is clipping their wings when their candidates have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections.
The Electoral College has outlived its usefulness, according to Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz. He said at a fundraising event that it should be replaced by a national popular vote.
“I think we all know that the electoral college has to go,” the Democratic vice presidential candidate said during the splashy fundraising event.
“But that’s not the world we live in.
‘So we need to win Beaver County, Pennsylvania. We need to be able to go to York, Pennsylvania, and win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada and win.”
Instead, he added: “We need a national popular vote.”
The latest electoral modeling figures from DailyMail.com/JL Partners illustrate what is at stake for Democrats.
It gives Harris a more than 70 percent chance of winning the national vote, but Trump currently has a 58.8 percent chance of emerging victorious from the Electoral College, the state-by-state contest that really decides who lives in the White White House. Home.
Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt went to X to denounce Walz’s comments. ‘Is Tampon Tim laying the groundwork to claim that President Trump’s victory is illegitimate?’ she posted.
Harris’ campaign said she did not plan to abolish the Electoral College.
“Governor Walz believes every vote matters in the Electoral College and is honored to travel the country and battleground states working to build support for the Harris-Walz ticket,” he said.
‘I was discussing to a crowd of strong supporters how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And I thanked them for their support, which is helping to fund those efforts.”
A Trump campaign spokeswoman quickly criticized Walz’s comments.
This isn’t the first time Walz’s small talk has gotten him into trouble.
He has had to correct comments about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre (he arrived weeks later) and carrying firearms “to war” (when he never served in a combat zone).
‘I talk like everyone else talks. I need to be clearer. “I’ll tell you that,” he told reporters recently.
However, he is a public advocate for getting rid of the Electoral College.
As governor, Walz signed legislation last year that sought to replace it with a national popular vote.
The current system involves 538 Electoral College votes, assigned to each state based on its number of members of Congress. Most states award them on a winner-take-all basis, with the candidate who scores 270 or more winning.