Election 2024: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz hold first rally as running mates

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., has lost her primary, handing a pro-Israel group another victory against a member of the progressive “squad” of lawmakers.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell has defeated Bush, NBC News projects. Bell is expected to carry Missouri’s deep-blue 1st Congressional District in November after a primary that exposed the party’s divisions over Israel, with Bush a vocal critic of the Israeli government and the country’s response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. 

“I’ll be a progressive member of Congress, but I’m also going to be a practical member of Congress,” Bell told NBC News over the weekend. “I recognize that we can’t get anything done without majorities, and so that means we need to work with our fellow Democrats up there, and we also when we can reach across the aisle and work with folks to get things done for this region and for this country.”

Read the full story here.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running to succeed Sen. Debbie Stabenow, thanked her fellow Michigan Democrat tonight for deciding to “pass the torch.”

"As I embark on the next 90 days ahead of this general election, I’m doing so only because she made this incredibly courageous decision to pass the torch deliberately,” Slotkin said of Stabenow, 74, after they embraced at Slotkin's watch party following her primary victory.

Slotkin, 48, used similar "torch" language in July when she called on Biden to drop his re-election bid.

And in a nod to the Harris campaign’s “Just plain weird” messaging about the Trump-Vance ticket, Slotkin said: “For everyone who believes our country is better than our current politics, I ask you to give me a shot. My message is simple. Join us on Team Normal.”

After his first day as Harris' running mate, Walz posted a photo of himself wearing a camouflage cap with the Harris-Walz logo, with a link to purchase it for $40 on the campaign's website.

Walz has long been a hunter and regularly touts his gun ownership as a reason he's in favor of gun control measures.

"You are not going to frame this that this is taking your guns, because I’m going to frame it that you’re not sticking up for our children,” he told reporters at a news conference last year, criticizing opponents of gun laws who accused Democrats of wanting to take away their guns.

Harris’ tactical calculation with her running mate pick is that Walz could provide a decisive boost in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — three states that, if Democrats can hold on to them, would make their ticket highly likely to win.

One of the Democrats’ chief challenges in those states is in blue-collar and small-town areas, where the party once ran competitively (or at least respectably) before the floor fell out amid and after Trump’s emergence in 2016. The thinking is that Walz’s story and style will be relatable and reassuring to some of these voters, blunting at least part of the Trump GOP’s newfound dominance.

There’s a catch, though: Walz wasn’t able to do that himself in his last campaign.

Read the full story here.

Months before he was selected as Harris’ running mate, Walz toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in his state alongside Harris — the first time a sitting president or vice president had visited an abortion provider.

The visit in March put Minnesota’s efforts to safeguard reproductive rights in the spotlight.

Now, Harris and Walz represent a Democratic ticket that vocally supports access to abortion and fertility treatment in an election in which those issues are expected to be important to voters and a focus of many Democratic campaigns.

Read the full story here.

As a teacher and coach at Mankato West High School, Walz gave out hallway high-fives, was named “most inspiring teacher,” motivated students to become educators themselves and helped create a turnaround story for the football team.

Now governor of Minnesota and the vice presidential pick on the Democratic presidential ticket, Walz is still remembered fondly by his former students and players.

“He was probably one of the most well-liked teachers in the school while he taught there,” said Katie Heintz, 41, who had Walz as a teacher her junior year of high school and is now the director of a library in the area.

Read the full story here.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tonight joked about his experience playing former Vice President Mike Pence in 2020 as Harris prepped for a vice presidential debate, indicating that he'd be willing to play Vance this year if asked.

In an interview on MSNBC, host Jen Psaki asked Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana: "If that debate happens, [Walz is] not going to have a lot of time to prepare. He's going to need someone to stand in for JD Vance at debate prep. You know any Democrats who can play a millennial Ivy League-educated military veteran from the Midwest?"

Buttigieg chuckled as Psaki listed off his own biography, which is similar to Vance's.

"Obviously, I'll make myself useful however, I can," he said. "I'm still recovering a little bit from the experience of trying to inhabit the mind of Mike Pence in order to play that role for Kamala Harris when she was in debate prep four years ago."

Harris introduced her running mate to the nation at a raucous rally in Pennsylvania’s biggest city tonight, playing up Walz’s background as a teacher, football coach, national guardsman and “one of the best marksmen” on Capitol Hill.

Thousands of supporters roared as Harris and Walz alternated between playing up his bio and taking shots at Trump and Vance.

“We are the underdogs in this race,” Harris said. “But we have the momentum, and I know exactly what we are up against.”

Read the full story here.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said tonight that her immediate reaction to hearing Gov. Josh Shapiro wouldn't be Harris’ running mate was “disappointment,” adding she’s a huge fan of Shapiro's.

But she immediately added in remarks to reporters after the Harris-Walz rally: "I have gotten to know Tim Walz and his history, his spectacular spirit of service with a twist — a great sense of humor, very intellectual, middle-of-the-road, middle-of-the-country sensibilities. And just a really smart guy. So I’m just delighted.”

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers have won their Senate primaries, NBC News projects, setting up one of the most competitive races in the country.

Slotkin, a prolific fundraiser who has spent more than $15 million on the race, defeated actor Hill Harper in the Democratic contest.

Rogers had Trump’s endorsement, and some of his top GOP opponents ended their campaigns before the primary. Rogers defeated former Rep. Justin Amash to win the Republican nomination.

Several LGBTQ groups, including GLAAD, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and the Human Rights Campaign, released statements today supporting Walz as Harris' running mate.

“A Harris-Walz ticket will certainly push the movement for equality forward, and we expect a Harris-Walz administration will continue the historic levels of LGBTQ+ representation among presidential appointments," the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund wrote.

GLAAD's president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, said, “Gov. Walz has a proven record of including and protecting LGBTQ people and the fundamental freedoms all Americans treasure."

As governor of Minnesota, Walz has signed into law bills that ban conversion therapy, designate the state as a refuge for trans youths and protect patients receiving abortions.

In an interview with Newsmax tonight, Vance attacked Walz over the riots that broke out in Minneapolis in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.

Vance said Harris chose a “running mate who wants to turn the entire country into Minneapolis during the summer riots of 2020.”

The remarks echoed an attack line Vance used earlier in the day, when he told reporters, “They make an interesting tag team, because, of course, Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020."

Walz's first term as governor began in 2019. He was re-elected in 2022.

Polls are now closed in Missouri and Michigan, two of four states holding primaries today.

One of the most hotly contested races is in Missouri's deep-blue 1st Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Cori Bush faces a primary challenge from St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell. Bush, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, has faced an onslaught of attacks on the airwaves from United Democracy Project, a super PAC tied to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

Michigan's primary determine the matchup in a crucial Senate race, with Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers the front-runners in their parties' respective contests.

Read more about key races to watch tonight.

Jessica Carman, 26, is a self-identified progressive from Phoenix who's happy Walz has joined Harris atop the Democratic ticket.

“He brings a couple of things together from a little bit of a more moderate position and a little bit of like a diet Bernie Sanders position,” she said.

Carman, a member of the LGQBT+ community, said she appreciated Walz's sponsorship of his school's Gay Straight Alliance when he was a social studies teacher in the 1990s.

At a surrogate event this afternoon, Reps. Ted Lieu and Haley Stevens praised Harris’ selection of Walz as her running mate, arguing that he may be able to help draw support in critical battleground states across the Midwest.

Lieu, D-Calif., and Stevens, D-Mich., both pointed to Walz’s potential bipartisan appeal on the national stage as a major strength at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“This is someone who can cross over to voters, particularly in areas where Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance want to gain ground. And that’s one of the things that Tim brings to the ticket that we’re really excited about,” Stevens said.

Harris and Walz joined an all-staff campaign call this evening, a campaign official told NBC News.

They joined the call shortly after they held their first rally together as running mates. According to a campaign source, Harris said: "Did you guys see tonight? It was just amazing."

"And you know, standing on the stage with you, Tim, your energy, your enthusiasm your joy, you and I have been talking a lot about the importance of joy," Harris said, according to the source. "It’s really infectious, and I was so proud to stand on that stage and talk about who you are and what you have done in sacrifice and dedication to our country. Really, you have an extraordinary life and career, and it is my honor to be able to do this with you, and we’re going to win. We’re going to win."

The Secret Service has initiated protective coverage for Walz, it said in a statement.

In his first campaign appearance as Harris' running mate today, Walz said the debate over in vitro fertilization is personal for his family.

When he and his wife decided to have children, he said, they went through years of infertility treatments.

"I remember praying every night for a call for good news, the pit in my stomach when the phone rang and the agony when we heard the treatments hadn't worked," Walz said.

Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, eventually had a daughter, whom they named "Hope."

"In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make, even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves," Walz said at the rally, referring to both abortions and IVF. "There’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business."

Walz said Vance shares Trump's "dangerous and backward agenda for this country."

"These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell," he said.

He noted Vance's ties to Project 2025 and said, "Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale," he "had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires" and he "wrote a bestseller trashing" the community he grew up in.

"I can't wait to debate the guy. That is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up," he said — what seemed to be a reference to a vulgar debunked online claim about Vance. Walz added, "You see what I did there?" as the crowd cheered.

Walz went after Trump for his record on crime while he was in the White House.

Trump "drove the economy into the ground" and "violent crime was up under Donald Trump," Walz said. "And that's not even counting the crimes he committed!"

Walz began his remarks to a cheering crowd after Harris sang his praises.

"Wow!" Walz exclaimed, responding to the sustained applause.

"I'm thrilled to be on this journey with you and Doug, this incredible journey," he told Harris, referring to the second gentleman. "Thank you for trust you put in me, and maybe more so, thanks for bringing back the joy."

He also gave a shoutout to his fellow VP finalist. "What a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro," he told the crowd. "This guy can bring the fire!"

Team Harris-Walz has raised more than $20 million since this morning’s announcement of Walz as Harris’ running mate, the campaign said.

Walz is giving his first speech as Harris' running mate.

He began after Harris rallied the crowd in Philadelphia.

Last month, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota became the first Democratic front-liner to call on President Joe Biden to step aside. She also was one of the first lawmakers to float her home-state governor, Walz, to be Harris’ running mate.

The week of July 22, the last week the House was in session before its summer recess, Craig began telling reporters in the Capitol that Walz should be the VP pick. She touted his military service, his teaching experience and his ability to win in a House district that Trump won.

Then she thought to herself she’d better give Walz a head’s up that she was pitching his name to reporters.

During her speech introducing Walz, Harris leaned into the Minnesota governor’s background as a football coach, repeatedly referring to him as “Coach Walz.”

“After school, Tim was the linebackers coach for the football team, where I’ve heard the stories about he had a knack for using the game of football to teach life lessons. He saw the potential in kids who sometimes didn’t even see it in themselves,” Harris said.

Walz coached and taught social studies at Mankato West High School and helped lead the football team to a state championship in 1999. 

“Under those Friday night lights, Coach Walz motivated his players to believe they could achieve anything. And together, they defied the odds — hear this out — going from a winless record to the school’s first ever state championship,” Harris added.

Harris called Walz a "model chief executive" who will be "ready on day one."

"Since the day that I announced my candidacy, I set out to find a partner who can help build this brighter future," Harris said. "I'm here today because I found such a leader."

She emphasized Walz's highlights from his time as governor, including his signing off on bills to institute universal free meals for students and paid family leave.

"He has shown up to stand against these attacks long before he stood onstage with me," Harris said, referring to abortion bans and other Republican policies.

In her first speech since picking her running mate, Harris said that since she launched her campaign last month, "it's been a whirlwind."

"We are the underdogs in this race, but we have the momentum, and I know exactly what we're up against," she said.

Harris and Walz took the stage together for the first time as running mates, entering to thunderous applause from a fired-up crowd of supporters in Philadelphia.

The smiling pair came out side by side as the Beyoncé song "Freedom" played.

"Good evening, Philadelphia!" Harris told the crowd.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said talked about his faith and his public service near the end of his remarks at tonight's rally.

“I lean on my family and I lean on my faith, which calls me to serve. And I’m proud of my faith,” said Shapiro, an observant Jew whose record on issues related to Israel came under scrutiny when he became a top contender for Harris' running mate.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was one of Harris' finalists for running mate, took the stage in Philadelphia to rapturous applause and cheers from thousands of supporters.

Shapiro reiterated his commitment to his state and threw his support behind the newly minted Democratic presidential ticket.

"I want you to know, I am going to continue to pour my heart and soul into serving you every single day as your governor, and I'm going to be working my tail off to make sure we make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the next leaders of the United States of America," Shapiro said near the top of his remarks.

Former Republican presidential candidate and Trump campaign surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy today urged the Trump campaign to focus on policy over name-calling following the selection of Walz as Harris’ running mate while criticizing Walz for calling Trump and Vance “weird.”

First lady Jill Biden offered her congratulations and support for Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, on social media today.

"National Guard family. Public School Educators. Governor and First Lady of MN. Our next VP and Second Lady — Congratulations Tim and Gwen," Biden posted on X.

Harris announced Walz as her running mate this morning, a day after she officially became the Democratic nominee.

Time-lapse imagery shows the line to get into Harris’ first rally with Walz, stretching for blocks away from the venue in Philadelphia.

Patrick Hershey, a high school math teacher from Phoenix, says he hopes Walz will draw on his background as an educator to fight for teachers if he becomes vice president.

“Especially in Arizona, being a teacher has been rough the last decade," Hershey said, adding that he expects Walz, who used to teach history, to bring “the knowledge of what it’s like to be a teacher, for one thing, and maybe just some general sympathies to the profession.”

Hershey, 48, said he hopes Walz will fight for increasing teacher pay if the Harris-Walz ticket wins and restore faith in the teaching profession. He also spoke of the importance of “having someone in the White House to reassure the powers that be that, look, teachers really are doing their best.”

In his first speech since being named Harris' running mate, Walz is expected to say Trump is only interested in "serving himself."

"Donald Trump — he sees the world differently. He doesn't know the first thing about service, because he's too busy serving himself," Walz says in excerpts of his prepared remarks shared by the Harris-Walz campaign.

Walz will also talk about growing up in rural Nebraska, where he "spent summers working on the family farm."

"My mom and dad taught us to show generosity toward your neighbors and to work for the common good," he'll say, according to the prepared remarks.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff today shared a video of his phone call to Gov. Tim Walz's wife, Gwen Walz.

"So, Gwen, I remember getting this call four years ago, and I actually know what you're going through right now. But the good news is I've already been through it," he said.

Gwen Walz and Emhoff will be in Philadelphia tonight for Harris' first campaign rally with Tim Walz after she named him her running mate.

"Well, we are so excited and thrilled and honored," Gwen Walz, who would be second lady if the Democrats win in November, said in the call shared by Emhoff. "And we are just, we are ready to win. And we will do everything, you know, that we can."

Trump said he will be interviewed on Monday night by Elon Musk, the billionaire who runs Tesla, SpaceX and social media site X.

The former president’s planned talk with Musk comes on the heels of Harris selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. It also follows the disclosure of probes of a Trump-supporting political action committee that Musk says he created.

“ON MONDAY NIGHT I’LL BE DOING A MAJOR INTERVIEW WITH ELON MUSK — Details to follow!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Read the full story here.

Walz's roots as a high school teacher and coach have helped endear him to much of the public, particularly among proponents for children.

“It is always exciting when we see candidates, those who aspire for higher office, who have first-hand experience, whether working in school buildings, working with community organizations, helping connect families with meals,” said Rachel Sabella, director of No Kid Hungry New York, a campaign of the national nonprofit organization Share Our Strength, which works to end hunger and poverty. “We always want to see people in elected office that we know prioritize this.”

In 2023, Walz signed a bill into law that enabled all K-12 students in Minnesota to receive free school breakfast and lunch, regardless of their family’s income. His legislation followed a Covid-era federal waiver that had temporarily made universal free school meals available to all students nationwide during the height of the pandemic; only a handful of states have since made the free school meals permanent.

A group of children fist-bumped and hugged Walz when he signed the bill into law at their Minneapolis elementary school.

Educators and anti-hunger advocates on Tuesday celebrated news that Kamala Harris named Tim Walz as her running mate, elevating a fierce proponent for children’s causes to the national stage.

A popular governor who is in his second term, Walz has taken a holistic view to improving public schooling in his state, investing in everything from increased teacher pay to free school meals for children. 

His interest in strengthening schools comes from personal experience: Before entering politics, Walz was an educator himself, teaching high school geography and social studies. 

“Gov. Walz is known as the ‘Education Governor’ because he has been an unwavering champion for public school students and educators and an ally for working families and unions,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, in a statement Tuesday. “He has a track record of getting things done to make people’s lives better.”

Despite competing for the same job to be Harris’ running mate, Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are quite close and have a good relationship, according to multiple sources familiar with the dynamic.

Last year, they attended a Bruce Springsteen concert together in New Jersey, along with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke. (Walz is a huge fan of "the Boss.")

In his statement today congratulating Walz, Shapiro wrote: “Lori and I consider Tim and Gwen to be good friends of ours and we are excited for them and for the country to get to know the great people we know them to be.”

Tim Walz may be best known as the governor of Minnesota, but he's also a native Nebraskan. And some state Democratic leaders are hoping his Nebraska roots could give Democrats a boost there in November.

“I think it shows the importance of the state of Nebraska. It shows the importance of our electoral vote, but more importantly it shows that we want someone that has Midwestern values in there,” said C.J. King, the chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party.

Born and raised in West Point, Nebraska, Walz has long been involved with local politics. He was last year's keynote speaker for the Ben Nelson Gala, Nebraska Democrats' annual fundraiser.

"Hi, this is Tim."

So begins the 1-minute video Harris shared on social media this afternoon of a phone call between the vice president and her new running mate.

"Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let's do this together," Harris tells Walz on speakerphone. "Would you be my running mate, and let's get this thing on the road?"

Walz, dressed in a black T-shirt and white sneakers, immediately accepts the offer before praising Harris for inspiring "joy" and "enthusiasm."

Harris had to pick a running mate in record speed — and how she did it offers some insight into her thinking.

She tasked a small group of people — including former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, former White House aide Cedric Richmond and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto — with interviewing the candidates who had cleared the vetting process and making recommendations.

The composition of that panel speaks to who she trusts and whose opinion she values. She picked advisors that represent different constituencies and parts of the party.  

Walsh is a longtime Biden ally, who would understand the president’s thinking and what plays with the union voters. Richmond, a former House member, was a longtime member of the Congressional Black Caucus and was deft at navigating the dynamics in the White House and the Democratic Party. And Cortez-Masto was able to win a difficult re-election last year in a key swing state — and forged a close friendship with Harris when they served in the Senate together.

Harris' VP choice is bringing in support from various wings of the Democratic Party. New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a member of the moderate Blue Dog Democrats, touted his support for Walz.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Harris "made an excellent decision in Gov. Walz as her running mate. Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people."

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin, both independents who caucus with Democrats, also put out public statements pledging their support for the pick.

A massive Zoom fundraiser with A-list comedians held yesterday raised $550,000 for Harris— a notable drop from the $4 million raised by a recent White Dudes for Harris Zoom and another recent massive online meeting for white women that raised $8.5 million.

More than 160,000 people tuned in to watch Comedians for Kamala — roughly the same number as tuned in for the White Dudes call — which featured Ben Stiller, Cecily Strong, John Hamm and many others. About 10,000 donors chipped in with an average donation of $55, according to organizers.

Some Democrats running for Senate in key battlegrounds cheered Walz as Harris' running mate.

"Governor Walz is a committed and capable public servant and I’m sure he and the Vice President are going to run a winning campaign," Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., posted on X, adding that the Keystone State is a critical presidential and Senate battleground. Casey is expected to attend today's rally with Harris and Walz, according to his campaign.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., also signaled she would be willing to campaign with the presidential ticket, posting on X, "@Tim_Walz has served our country in the Army National Guard, in the classroom, in Congress, and as Governor of MN. He’ll be a strong running mate for @KamalaHarris and an experienced VP helping lead the country. I look forward to welcoming the #HarrisWalz ticket to NV soon!"

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., praised Walz in an interview today with MSNBC as a humble and trustworthy friend and partner in a ticket that pursues the "politics of joy."

"What Kamala Harris is giving the nation with Tim Walz is someone who is incredibly smart and someone who can lead and bring people with us. He knew that as a football coach, he knew that as a member of our military," she said.

"He's someone you can trust, and you want that governing our nation. And then she's bringing in someone that brings some other interests and other areas of expertise," she added, noting his service on the Agriculture and Armed Services committees during his stint in Congress and saying that will be "incredibly important, particularly in the Midwest."

Moira Donohue contributed.

The Republican response to the Walz pick is another example of a messaging strategy the GOP has used frequently this summer: grievance politics.

After Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris, the response from Republicans was unified. They argued that voters would be angry that a "coup" had been staged to oust Biden.

But that attack line didn't stick. Instead, Democrats rallied around Harris and there was little sign — polling or anecdotal — that the party's voters were planning to balk at the switch.

The pick of Walz, however, has stoked the Republicans to return to the same kind of criticism. Almost immediately, Republicans tried to frame the selection as a slight to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — a response that would seem to suggest he thinks Democrats should be mad at their nominee for the pick.

Octaviana Trujillo, a Democrat from Tucson, said she wanted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to be Harris' running mate but has heard good things about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The retired Indigenous studies professor said she wanted Shapiro "because of the Electoral College” and the edge he would've brought to his state, a key battleground.

“It’s going to be a very tough race there in Pennsylvania," she said. 

Like most Americans, the 70-year-old said she hadn't heard much about Walz, though she likes what she has heard. Trujillo said she thinks Walz "comes with a lot of good family Midwestern values."

In response to the speculation that her senator, Mark Kelly, had been on Harris' shortlist for a running mate, Trujillo's glad that Kelly will remain in his role. “I would like to keep him as a senator,” she said.  

 

The threat of severe thunderstorms in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area have increased as Harris and Walz are set to make their first joint campaign appearance at a rally this evening in Philadelphia.

The National Weather Service said the highest chance for severe weather will be between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. in southeastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey. Harris is expected to deliver remarks at 5:30 p.m.

Potential flash flooding and damaging wind gusts could occur in portions of the forecast area.

This week, Harris has already postponed planned events in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday and Friday respectively because of Tropical Storm Debby.

Law enforcement sources have told NBC News that Walz will be picked up by the Secret Service once he lands in Philadelphia and will have a security detail going forward.

Biden congratulated Walz on being selected as Harris’ running mate, a White House spokesperson said. 

“This morning, @POTUS and @VP spoke on the phone ahead of her official announcement that she selected Governor Tim Walz as her Vice Presidential nominee,” White House spokesperson Emilie Simons said in a post on X. 

“@POTUS also spoke with Governor Walz to congratulate him on his selection.”

When Walz was a teacher in Minnesota, he was a member of the American Federation of Teachers — one of two large unions that represent public school teachers. Walz has at times touted his union credentials.

In the past few years, the popularity of labor unions has been growing. And there has been an increasing number of unions formed in industries and companies where there previously were not — like the push among some Amazon and Starbucks workers.

Polling also found unions are increasingly popular.

In 2022, Gallup polling found labor unions hit their highest approval numbers since 1965. In a 2023 poll, Gallup found that 61% of Americans think labor unions "mostly help" the U.S. economy in general — the highest number in decades.

If you haven’t heard much about Walz before Harris selected him as her running mate, you’re not alone.

A national NPR/PBS/Marist poll released Tuesday, before Harris made her pick, showed 71% of Americans saying they’ve never heard of Walz or don’t have an opinion of him. Another 17% viewed him favorably versus 12% who viewed him negatively.

By comparison, in the same poll, 53% said they hadn’t heard of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — another top contender to be Harris’ running mate — while 25% viewed Shapiro favorably versus 23% who viewed him unfavorably.

Read the full story here.

Fox News’ latest poll from July provides a look at what Harris might be giving up in Pennsylvania by not elevating Gov. Josh Shapiro ahead of a big battle for the state's electoral votes.

Shapiro had a 61% favorable rating in the survey, compared to 32% unfavorable. Harris’ favorable-unfavorable rating stood at 49%-49%, while Trump was narrowly in negative territory at 46% favorable, 53% unfavorable.

Harris was tied 49%-49% in a head-to-head matchup with Trump in the poll, which showed Shapiro beating Trump 54%-44% in a hypothetical matchup.

Speaking to reporters on the campaign plane after landing in Philadelphia, Vance said he called Walz while en route to the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport this morning.

“I left a voicemail,” Vance said. “I didn’t get him, but I just said, ‘Look, congratulations, looking forward to robust conversation and enjoy the ride.’ And maybe he’ll call me back, maybe he won’t.”

He also said he “absolutely” wants to debate Walz but will wait until he’s officially nominated.

President Joe Biden praised Walz as a “strong, principled, and effective leader” in his first statement reacting to Harris’ VP pick. 

“I’ve known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as Governor," Biden said in a post on X. "A husband and father, he’s been a school teacher and a high school football coach. He served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and became the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress. As Governor, he’s been a strong, principled, and effective leader.”

"The Harris-Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class," Biden continued. "They will be the strongest defenders of our personal freedoms and our democracy. And they will ensure that America continues to lead the world and play its role as the indispensable nation."

"It’s time for all Democrats — and indeed all Americans — committed to freedom, democracy, and American leadership in the world to rally behind the Harris-Walz ticket.”

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan released her first message of support for Walz following his selection as Harris' running mate, calling him her "partner in justice at the Minnesota Capitol."

"He has the grit and the grace to keep our country moving forward alongside Kamala Harris," she said in a post on X.

If Walz steps down to become vice president, Flanagan would assume the role of governor, according to state constitutional guidelines. A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan would become the state's first Native American governor and its first woman governor.

Read more here.

Walz was at home this morning with his wife, two kids, sister and brother-in-law, according to a source. The family was able to celebrate the news together. They had donuts on hand for staff. 

Walz then hopped on a governor staff call to say thanks to everybody for their hard work and stressed the need to keep doing “their important work delivering for the people of Minnesota.”

A Minnesota Democratic strategist close to Walz told NBC News, “Send him to a battleground state and he’ll win people over.”

Describing Walz as a leader, the strategist noted the governor’s more than 10 years in Congress, 24 years of military service, and his close relationship with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the highest-ranking Native American woman elected to executive office.

The strategist also pointed to Walz’s record demonstrating bipartisanship, his experience representing a purple congressional district, his championing of progressive policies, his work with people of color and Indigenous communities throughout his political career, his folksy nature that makes him approachable to the public, and his support of LGBTQ rights and unions.

Walz is the third Minnesotan picked for a Democratic ticket in the last 60 years.

Lyndon Johnson won with sitting Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1964, following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Johnson’s elevation to the presidency. In 1976, Jimmy Carter picked another Minnesota senator, Walter Mondale, as his running mate. They won the White House, too.

But Humphrey and Mondale didn’t fare as well in their own bids for the presidency. Humphrey lost to Richard Nixon in 1968, and Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984.

The Walz family’s personal experiences with using in vitro fertilization could strike a chord with some voters who worry fertility treatments are increasingly under threat following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

In an interview last month on MSNBC's "Inside With Jen Psaki," Walz said he and his wife, Gwen Walz, embraced IVF fertility treatments to grow their family.

"Thank God for IVF — my wife and I have two beautiful children," the two-term Minnesota governor said July 25.

Walz had discussed his family's experiences with IVF treatments in March, when he told reporters that he and his wife had undergone fertility treatments for seven years before the birth of their daughter, Hope, in 2001.

“It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope,” Walz said.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who was among those being considered for Harris' vice presidential pick, showed his support for Walz on X.

“Vice President @KamalaHarris and Governor @Tim_Walz are going to move us forward," Kelly wrote. "They’re already building a campaign to unite our country — and @GabbyGiffords and I are ready to do everything we can to help them win.”

ActBlue, the online donation processor used by the Harris campaign and most other Democratic groups, erupted with new contributions after Walz's selection as running mate was announced.

According to the live donation ticker on ActBlue's homepage, the service processed more than $2.5 million in donations from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET after Harris' campaign told supporters her pick.

It was the biggest hour on ActBlue so far this month, following an explosion of donations to Harris after she took over as the presumptive Democratic nominee in July. Her political operation announced raising $310 million in July versus $139 million for Trump, according to his campaign.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called Harris' choice of Walz a “brilliant” decision and said that the governor has the skills to speak directly to the concerns of Midwestern voters. 

While Minnesota is a blue state, Democrats there work for that every year, and Walz has helped the party win statewide, Ellison said.

“It’s never easy. … We don’t win just because we’re a blue state. … We win because we knock on doors and talk to our neighbors and work together," he said. "And Tim Walz understands the Minnesota method of winning.”

Ellison also said without Walz, there would be no George Floyd case. Walz’s decision to take the case out of the hands of county prosecutors and put it into his hands as the state attorney general was instrumental in getting a conviction, he said.

Walz said in a post on social media that being selected as Harris' running mate is "the honor of a lifetime."

"I'm all in," Walz said in a post on X.

"Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school," he wrote. "So, let’s get this done, folks!"

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was seen by some Democratic strategists as a potential running mate for Harris after Biden's disastrous debate performance, praised the vice president's selection of Walz.

"I’m so excited that my friend @Tim_Walz will be the next Vice President of the United States! As a fellow Midwesterner and governor, I know firsthand that his leadership is an important asset to this ticket," Whitmer said in a post to X. "He’ll be an excellent partner for @KamalaHarris, and I’ll do everything I can to get them elected this November. Let’s go win this thing!"

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was on the Harris campaign's running mate shortlist, lauded Walz as an "exceptionally effective governor" who will "deliver for Americans" if the Democratic ticket triumphs this fall.

"I’m excited for what his Midwestern voice, military experience, and common-sense values will bring to our winning ticket, and for everything the Harris-Walz administration will deliver for Americans," Buttigieg wrote in a post to X.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has emerged as a rising star in the Democratic Party. He frequently defends the Biden administration's record in television interviews, including on Fox News.

Following reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be Harris' running mate, the Muslim American advocacy group Emgage Action released a statement to Instagram welcoming Walz as the VP pick.

While Walz's views on Israel have been fairly in line with the rest of the Democratic Party, he received praise from some in March after he said uncommitted voters are "civically engaged" as they seek changes in U.S. policy and also called for a cease-fire in Gaza.

"People are frustrated, but it bodes well for me that they're actively engaged to go out and cast his vote and ask for change," Walz told MPR News.

One Arizona Democratic voter said she doesn't know that much about Tim Walz but would be voting for Harris no matter what.

Allison Nies, 75, said she had "seen him on TV" and "he’s very articulate. He’s a good choice."

Asked if it mattered at all who Harris’ running mate was, she said she was going to vote for Harris regardless of her choice. “I want to see a woman president before I die,” said Nies. “I think she’s tough, she’s probably highly intelligent. … Donald Trump is afraid to debate her.” 

Nies also expressed disappointment that her fellow Arizonan, Sen. Mark Kelly, wasn’t Harris’ choice.

“I think it’d be so neat to have an astronaut on the ticket. You’d think that’d be a shoo-in,” said the retired school teacher.

 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker endorsed Walz, saying on X that he is a "proven leader who brings to public service the big heart and hard work of a Midwesterner."

Pritzker was one of the six potential running mates that the Harris vetting team had met with in recent days.

"I am fully committed to electing the Harris-Walz ticket," he wrote. "I will do everything I can to ensure victory in November for Democrats up and down the ballot here in Illinois and across the country."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was widely seen as a leading contender to be Harris' running mate, tweeted that he has more to accomplish in his home state and looks forward to campaigning for the newly minted presidential ticket.

"Nearly two weeks ago, Vice President Harris asked me to work with her team to complete the vetting process to be considered as her running mate — and following those conversations, on Sunday, I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with the Vice President directly about her vision for the role and the campaign ahead," Shapiro said in a statement accompanying the tweet.

“As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the Vice President — and it was a deeply personal decision for me. Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their Governor, and my work here is far from finished — there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this Commonwealth,” Shapiro added.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who attended a Harris fundraiser with Walz last night, kicked off the morning with a tweet celebrating the Twins beating the Cubs 3-0.

But the tweet might have also been a wink at the news that was about to break.

"Good morning Minnesota! We're on a roll! And looks like the day is even going to get better!!," Klobuchar wrote.

Harris had very strong chemistry with Walz when they met Sunday at her residence, four sources familiar with the selection process said. That connection played a key role in her decision-making and influenced her final pick because it was clearer with him than with the other top contenders, they said. 

Harris also appreciates how different Walz is from her in terms of the contrast he can provide. 

“She’s urban and young, he’s from the Midwest and white-haired,” one source familiar with Harris’ thinking said. “He’s both rural and progressive,” while also being “likable” and “funny,” with “a lot of personality,” the source said. 

Other reasons Harris selected Walz include his executive experience, with a strong record of working for middle class families, and the fact that he is a veteran who served in the National Guard, two of the sources said. Walz is also a former football coach, hunter and gun owner who can appeal to voters in key Rust Belt states that are considered must-win for the campaign. 

In a fund-raising text message sent to supporters, the Harris campaign officially announced Walz will join her on the ballot this fall.

"I'm pleased to share that I've made my decision: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will join our campaign as my running mate," the text message said.

"Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families," it continued. "I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign, and to the office of the vice president."

Walz, a former House member for a dozen years, had a lot of cheerleaders rooting for him in Congress during the VP vetting process.

One of their central arguments: Unlike the others, Walz has deep relationships on Capitol Hill that would help Harris implement her legislative agenda starting in 2025.

Before the Walz announcement, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a Walz friend, said he saw parallels between the Obama-Biden relationship and a potential Harris-Walz ticket.

Obama was a senator, like Biden, but didn’t have the decades of experience and relationships Biden had. So Obama leaned on Biden to work across the aisle, meet with lawmakers and get his agenda passed on Hill.

Typically, Democratic National Convention delegates have to approve their party's vice presidential nominee in a roll call vote. But thanks to a subtle change made to facilitate the party's virtual roll call vote, Walz doesn't need official approval from the thousands of party delegates this time.

The rules governing the virtual roll call, passed in order to ensure the party didn't jeopardize its spot on the Ohio ballot, allowed for a virtual vote of convention delegates to pick the Democratic presidential nominee, which Harris won handily.

But the rules then give that presidential nominee the sole power to nominate a vice presidential candidate, and gives the chair of the convention the power to "declare the nominated individual the Democratic Candidate for Vice President."

So while convention delegates would have almost certainly approved of Walz and have never tried to buck a nominee's pick in modern times, the new rules allow the party to even more quickly approve of its ticket this time.

Republicans frequently assail the nation's most elite universities, arguing that affluent schools like the Ivy League are trying to brainwash students to think like liberals. But it would be hard to guess that by looking at the educational backgrounds of the candidates on the Republican and Democratic presidential tickets.

Trump and Vance both attended Ivy League schools. Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree. Vance attended Ohio State University as an undergrad and then went to Yale for law school.

Harris attended Howard University, an HBCU, for undergrad and then went to law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (since renamed University of California College of the Law, San Francisco).

Walz was entirely a product of the public school system. He attended Chadron State College, a public school in Nebraska for undergrad, and got a master's degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Posts to X about Walz's "Midwestern dad" energy are going viral following reports that Harris had picked the Minnesota governor as her VP.

J Street PAC, the fundraising arm for the left-leaning pro-Israel organization, praised Harris’ selection of Walz in a fundraising email this morning.

“As a J Street endorsee from his time in the House, we know Walz well. With his good humor and fighting spirit, he’ll be a powerful, energizing messenger in the fight to protect democracy and defeat the Trump-Vance ticket,” Tali deGroot, J Street's national political director, wrote.

“A Harris-Walz administration will fight for our shared values, protect our community and our democratic freedoms, and pursue smart, pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership abroad,” she added.

Walz is the first person on the Democratic presidential ticket since 1980 to never have attended law school.

Every Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidate between the present time and Jimmy Carter in 1980 has had a law degree — the only exception being future Vice President Al Gore, who left Vanderbilt's law school without a degree to run for Congress. But Walz is the only one who never sought a law degree.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison applauded Harris' choice of Walz as her running mate, saying in a statement that "there is no better choice for Vice President of the United States of America."

"Tim has the courage of a veteran, the compassion of a school teacher, the grit of a football coach, and the experience of both a congressman and governor," Ellison said.

Walz and Ellison were both elected to the House in 2006 and each ascended to statewide office in 2018.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she respects Harris' running mate pick, calling Walz "wonderful" during an interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

“I respect the decision, and I respect all the rest,” Pelosi said. She said Harris "had many good choices among the six and certainly among the two," referring to Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who reportedly were her final contenders.

Pelosi said she did not agree with those calling Walz far-left.

"To characterize him as left is so unreal," Pelosi said. "He's right down the middle. He's a heartland of America Democrat."

"These guys are just weird."

With those five words, a relatively low-profile Midwestern governor became a social media sensation, catapulting him to fame among Democratic voters — and setting the stage for his ascent to the No. 2 spot on the party's presidential ticket.

In an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last month, Walz mocked Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as "weird" and said they were "running for He-Man Women Haters Club." The clip of the interview went viral and the term "weird" quickly gained traction. Harris embraced the label, too, blasting her Republican opponents as "just plain weird."

The "weird" diss contrasts with some of the more high-minded language used in recent years by Biden, who has characterized Trump's candidacy as an existential threat to democracy. Harris has used both lines of attack while developing her own messaging style on the stump.

Governors regularly make a play to become president, but it's been exactly 100 years since Democrats last picked a sitting governor to be their vice presidential candidate.

The last time Democrats went to that well was in 1924 when they picked Charles Wayland Bryan, the brother of William Jennings Bryan, to serve as the running mate to John W. Davis. (This was long before the modern primary process. At the time, convention delegates picked both candidates and the presidential nominee didn’t pick their own running mate.) The pair lost the general election to Republicans Calvin Coolidge and Charles Dawes.

Democrats have chosen former governors before, most recently in 2016, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tapped Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who previously served as governor and then ran for the Senate when term-limited. Other sitting Democratic governors have won their party's presidential nomination — most recently Bill Clinton.

Moments after news broke that Walz was selected as Harris' running mate, people outside of his St. Paul residence could be heard shouting "We love you, Tim Walz."

Neighbors came out of their houses to cheer, honk car horns and talk to reporters. More than a dozen people are out and about on the sidewalk hoping to catch a glimpse of the governor.

A car with aides entered the residence a few minutes ago, and a black SUV then pulled out.

In a fundraising email to supporters, the Trump campaign slammed Walz in fiery terms, claiming the Minnesota governor would "unleash hell on Earth" if the Democratic ticket wins this fall.

The email went on to say: "Even worse than Dangerously Liberal and Crooked Kamala Harris — HE’S THAT BAD."

Democrats are hopeful that Walz will serve as a complement to Harris, bringing a mix of Midwestern political chops, experience in tough elections and a forceful, yet folksy presence on the airwaves and the stump as the party seeks to make its case for another term in the White House.

The former high school teacher and football coach has won strong praise from Democrats as someone with experience on Capitol Hill, as a state executive and who can make an unapologetic case for Democrats on the airwaves.

"If you’re looking for balance on the ticket in terms of life experience, and who’s going to bring that life experience to the administration with a whole series of credentials in solving problems for middle class and American families, Tim Walz has a pretty damn good resume,” former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., told NBC News last month.

During his about a decade in the House, Walz continued to win re-election in a difficult district, one that Trump won in 2016. He went on to win his 2018 for governor by more than 10 points, a significant win in a race Republicans had been trying to contest (although Democrats performed well across the board that year, and the conservative Republican ticket struggled to win over the middle of the electorate).

A source familiar with the matter says Harris is making her calls now to the contenders. 

Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, according to three sources familiar with her thinking. The pick adds a popular Midwestern state executive to the Democratic ticket as the party gears up to hold onto key northern battleground states this fall.

In picking Walz, who’s in his second term and also served 12 years in Congress, Harris will have as her No. 2 someone with a proven record of winning over white working-class voters in Rust Belt states while also boasting a robustly progressive record.Read the full story here.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is demanding independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pay nearly $24,000 in fines for dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park.

“Bear with me for a moment — I did the math, and on behalf of all New Yorkers, I demand that @RobertKennedyJr promptly send the City of New York what he owes for his ursine exploits,” Lander wrote in a post on X last night, which includes a graphic breaking down the costs of a bear disposal in the city that amounted to $23,694.67 total. Much of the calculated fine consisted of accrued interest since the dumping a decade ago.

In a video he posted Sunday, Kennedy acknowledged that in 2014 he picked up a dead bear cub outside of New York City after it was hit with a car. He had intended to skin the dead bear and refrigerate its meat, he said, but he ultimately dropped it off in Central Park near a bike path.

Harris has decided who her running mate will be, according to two sources familiar with her thinking.

She made the final decision this morning after taking the night to sleep on it.

The announcement is expected to come this morning.

A source familiar with the process tells NBC News that as of last night, Harris had not made a final decision — that she wanted to sleep on it for one last night.

This source says the Harris campaign has printed signage with Harris’ name on top and multiple different possible running mates’ names beneath it so they are prepared for whatever decision she makes. 

Another member of the “squad” of progressive lawmakers is fighting for political survival in today's primaries, which will also put Trump’s endorsement to the test once again, including in Michigan’s crucial battleground Senate race.

Read the full story here.

Usha Vance, the wife of Trump’s running mate, described her husband’s "serious" motivations in joining Trump’s presidential campaign, which she described as “worthwhile.”

“I know why he’s doing this. I know who he cares about, the reasons that he wants to make people’s lives better, and I know that his motivations are serious,” she said in a taped interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “They aren’t this sort of silly caricature that you see about him. And so because of that, because I know that about him, I do think it’s worthwhile.””

Asked why a Trump-Vance ticket is the best option for the country, she said her husband cares about people’s livelihoods and isn’t afraid to “shake things up.”

Harris’ campaign is postponing her event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday, part of a campaign swing through several battleground states, because of Tropical Storm Debby, two campaign officials said. 

NBC News previously reported that her campaign also scrapped plans to stop in Savannah, Georgia, on Friday because of the storm.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a possible vice presidential pick for Harris, is scheduled to deliver remarks at 5 p.m. at a Harris campaign rally at Temple University in Philadelphia tonight where she is kicking off a swing-state tour with her choice of a running mate.

Asked Friday whether he would be attending Harris’ rally in Philadelphia, Shapiro said, "I hope to be, yeah.” 

Harris won the support of 99% of participating delegates in the Democratic National Committee's virtual roll call vote, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and convention chair Minyon Moore announced last night.

Harris, who was unopposed for the nomination, won 4,567 delegates from across the country, they said, making her the Democratic presidential nominee.

Once the vote is certified and Harris accepts the nomination, delegates will hold a celebratory roll call vote in person at the convention later this month, the statement said.

Harris is scheduled to head to Philadelphia with the second gentleman this afternoon for her first campaign event alongside her eventual running mate.

She is scheduled to speak at 5:30 p.m. ET and plans to head back to Washington tonight after her remarks.

Hours ahead of Harris' first appearance alongside her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia, Vance is scheduled to deliver remarks at his own event there.

He is expected to speak around noon.