Potential Dem veep contender and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who stood by President Biden during the party’s mutiny against him — said Sunday that Kamala Harris has given Democrats a “new burst of energy.”
Walz, 60, seemed to imply that Democrats’ chances of victory have gone up now that Biden, 81, stepped aside and Vice President Harris, 59, is their presumptive presidential nominee.
“There’s a new burst of energy. I was at a labor rally yesterday, and I’ve not seen anything like this for 15 years,” Walz told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I think she’s more boosted because she’s bringing positive vision,” he said. “It’s just a whole new vibe to the campaign.”
Walz, who is a co-chair on the Democratic National Committee rules panel, had publicly stuck with Biden as Democratic calls for him to step aside grew louder after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump.
The governor attended a Biden-Harris campaign event in Milwaukee on July 17 during the Republican National Convention to stump for Biden.
Earlier in the month, Walz visited the White House and later affirmed to reporters that Biden was “fit” for office and that Democratic governors “have his back,” even as criticism mounted from the president’s debate performance.
But Sunday, Walz suggested that the president had made the right decision to throw in the towel exactly one week ago and pass the torch.
“I applaud Joe Biden. I think he made the right decision in terms of where he’s at and the ability to prosecute this case against Donald Trump’s weirdness and our policies that are making a difference,” he said.
“I’m excited about it. I think we eventually needed to get here,” Walz said.
During the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Walz appeared to take a few swipes at Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) during his longshot bid for the presidency against Biden.
Phillips predicated his campaign on concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity. Walz was named on a fundraiser blast chiding that sometimes people in his state “do crazy things” and publicly suggested Dean was a distraction.
“I wasn’t belittling Dean personally. I just thought, look, [Biden’s] in the middle of dealing with these crises, and we’re out here saying he’s too old,” Walz explained about his criticism of Dean’s bid.
Walz has seemingly tried out for the veepstakes, taking aim at Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and former President Trump, calling the pair “weird.” He was out on the campaign stump for Harris alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in his home state Saturday ahead of Trump’s rally there.
The Harris campaign has used a similar attack line against the Trump-Vance Republican ticket.
Walz was coy about whether he would accept a hypothetical position as Harris’ runningmate. He also wouldn’t confirm whether he received any vetting material from Harris’ campaign.
“I think being mentioned is certainly an honor,” he said. “One way or another, she is going to win in November, and that’s going to benefit everyone.”
Last week, under Walz’s leadership, the DNC’s rules committee voted to hold a virtual roll call to crown the party’s eventual nominee ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
That means that Harris will likely become the Democratic candidate for president within roughly the first week of August and must have her VP selected by then.
Other top contenders to be Harris’ No. 2 reportedly include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.