Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is in the national spotlight following reports that he is on the short list of candidates that Vice President and presumed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is vetting as she considers who will be her running mate.
Talking to Sheletta Brundidge on the Sheletta Show on Saturday afternoon on WCCO Radio, Walz acknowledged that he is under consideration. Despite Brundidge’s push for him to elaborate, he declined to elaborate on any developments with the selection.
“I’m honored that people say that but that will be a decision the Vice President makes,” he told Brundidge.
“It’s nice to be mentioned in this. My job is to go out and make sure that Kamala Harris, and whoever is on her ticket, win in November, because that will be a win for the folks. It’s a crazy time.”
Walz, the second-term Minnesota governor, has been making the rounds on political panels in support of the vice president where his folksy wit has been noticed. Some of his television appearances have cracked up cable hosts and have gone viral; he referred to supporters of former President Donald Trump as “weird people” and criticized Senator J.D. Vance for calling some Democrats “childless cat ladies.”
“We have seen a burst of energy around Kamala Harris,” Walz said. “I’m just really fatigued and tired of all the negativity. All the ‘things are going bad, we can't do this.’ That’s not who Minnesotans are and that’s not who the country is.”
Walz spent part of his Saturday at the St. Paul Labor Center, where he joined other elected leader in rallying the crowd of several hundred people who signed up to door knock in support of Democratic candidates. Trump and Vance were also in Minnesota at a rally in St. Cloud on Saturday.
“That room was packed. It was a beautiful rainbow of people there talking about optimistic future of what we can do. And we’re not going back. The vice president is right. We are not going back to a time when women don’t make their own decisions,” he said. “The vibe was one of optimism.”
Walz criticized former President Donald Trump for name-calling Harris at an appearance Friday night in Palm Beach, Fla. and suggested to Brundidge that it might have a negative consequence.
“Apparently strong Black smart women terrify them,” Walz said. “He found the need to call an accomplished Attorney General, the first female Vice President of the United States, he decided to call her a bum. I got inundated by my female relatives asking where they can sign up and go fight.”
A number of the other candidates that Harris is reportedly considering are Walz’s counterparts as Democratic governors, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. Roy Moore of North Carolina and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s because a lot of them have brought policies to their states that make a difference, whether it’s preschool meals or growing the economy for better jobs,” said Walz, who heads the Democratic Governors Association.
Vice President Harris has sparked interest in younger voters, which has spilled over into support and interest in Gov. Walz among his Gen Z constituents.
“I’m very proud that I spent a big chunk of my professional life as a teacher and I know that optimism is built into them,” he said. “My 23-year-old daughter likes me a lot now too.”