After days of speculation about which way she’d lean when choosing her running mate, Kamala Harris has made her announcement: Tim Walz is her vice presidential pick.
The announcement today comes days after Harris was officially named the Democratic Party’s candidate for president following a vote by party delegates. While voting did not close until this Monday, by Friday Harris had already garnered the votes necessary to be the nominee. Three other candidates did not secure the necessary signatures to appear on the the party ballot.
Walz, who has been governor of Minnesota since 2019, is one in a pool of experienced politicians whose names circulated in the media for days as potential VP candidates. These included Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
A former educator who also served in the Army National Guard, Walz is currently in his second term as governor and chairs the Democratic Governors Association. Previously, he served 12 years in Congress, racking up a consistently progressive voting record while representing a conservative-leaning district.
Harris’s decision comes after she spent the weekend conducting interviews with contenders at her Washington, D.C. home, per various news outlets—and just in time for her to settle into her campaign with Walz ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which starts August 19 in Chicago. Harris and her potential VP are now expected to tour battleground states around the country to secure votes for their party—and against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win,” Harris said in her first speech after announcing her run for president.
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper’s Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.