Pelosi says Democrats are ‘thrilled’ over new Harris-Walz ticket

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats are “thrilled” that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has joined U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign as her running mate, calling the energy in the party “explosive.”

Pelosi spoke to Global News as she was leaving MSNBC’s studios in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, a day after Walz was officially announced as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee.

“He’s just great,” Pelosi said when asked about Walz, who previously served with her in Congress. “Members (of the House Democratic caucus) are so thrilled.

“He brings vision, he brings values, he brings strategic thinking, but he also brings lots of friendship.”

Harris — who just secured the Democratic nomination Monday, just over two weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the race — was facing enormous pressure to pick a vice-presidential nominee who wouldn’t squander the momentum she has been enjoying since she first announced her candidacy.

The raucous reception at a Philadelphia rally Tuesday night, where Harris and Walz made their debut as running mates, suggested she had succeeded. Pelosi seemed to agree, noting the “whole dynamic is different” compared to the last days of Biden’s campaign.

“My daughter was at the rally in Philadelphia last night and she said it was just explosive,” Pelosi told Global News on Wednesday. “Young people, everyone, just so happy.”

1:04 Harris’ running mate Tim Walz calls Trump, Vance ‘weird as hell’

Asked if she feels Democrats have a winning campaign under Harris and Walz, Pelosi responded: “Oh, we have to win. There’s no question about that.”

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Walz served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years before running for the governorship in Minnesota in 2018.

A 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, Walz became known in Congress as a champion of agricultural and veterans issues. He particularly won praise for helping to reach bipartisan consensus for veterans’ health and education benefits during then-president Donald Trump’s divisive term.

Pelosi said veterans issues in particular are “a national and global priority” for Democrats.

Walz was first elected in 2006 as part of the freshman class that won Democrats majority control of the chamber. That majority then elected Pelosi as speaker, making her the first woman ever to serve in the role.

Pelosi has continued to wield power among Democrats since leaving the speakership last year. She reportedly had private conversations with Biden that helped convince him to end his re-election bid after weeks of resistance, opening the door for Harris to replace him.

As Harris weighed who to choose as her running mate, the Associated Press, Reuters and other outlets reported Wednesday that Pelosi — who maintained that she had no preference and wouldn’t weigh in on the selection process — had been backing Walz.

That may have helped push Walz in front of other, more high-profile candidates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, those U.S. outlets reported. Walz also saw his media profile rise after earning credit for labelling Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”

2:43 America Votes: Who is Tim Walz and why Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate

After rallying voters in Philadelphia Tuesday, Harris and Walz launched their first cross-country campaign blitz Wednesday, travelling to Wisconsin, Michigan and other battleground states that will be crucial to win in November.

The Democrats narrowly crossed paths with Vance on the tarmac of the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, where their respective planes landed as both campaigns reach out to Midwestern voters. Vance and the Trump campaign held their own rally in Wisconsin and also followed the Harris-Walz team to Michigan later on Wednesday for a competing event.

As of Wednesday, FiveThirtyEight’s national polling average showed Harris leading Trump by nearly two points nationally, with even narrower leads in those battlegrounds.

The Harris campaign claims it raised US$36 million from donors in the 24 hours since announcing Walz as her pick. That’s on top of the more than US$310 million it raised last month, including US$200 million it says came in the first week after Biden endorsed Harris to replace him.

“Kamala Harris has to do everything she can to up voter turnout among Democrats,” Jennifer Lawless, a professor and politics department chair at the University of Virginia, told Global News. “Donald Trump needs to do that among Republicans. And then they have to fight for those people who still haven’t made up their minds.”

Democrats and political analysts have praised the selection of Walz as someone who can communicate liberal policies in ways that speak to independent voters in those must-win states, which could make all the difference in such a tight race.

“While Tim Walz has a very liberal policy record in Minnesota, it’s the type of liberal policy record that I think speaks to a lot of kitchen table issues,” said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

That record has included free school meals for children and free public college tuition for students in lower-income families, paid family and medical leave, and health insurance coverage regardless of a person’s immigration status. Walz and Democratic lawmakers who control the state legislature have also passed laws protecting abortion access and gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Trump, Vance and other Republicans have criticized that record, and what they characterize as Walz’ slow response to the sometimes-violent protests that erupted in Minnesota in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, as proof the new running mate is overly liberal and even “far-left.”

Earlier Wednesday, Pelosi dismissed those criticisms as “mystifying.”

“To characterize him as left is so unreal,” she told MSNBC in a televised interview before her run-in with Global News.

“He’s right down the middle, he’s a heartland of America Democrat.”

—With files from the Associated Press