Georgia delegates surprised but pleased with Harris’ running mate pick
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Georgia Democratic delegates were surprised but pleased with Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ pick for a running mate.
For months, names like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg floated around the politisphere, and when the dust settled, it was Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, an outspoken surrogate for the Harris campaign, who got the nod.
RELATED: Five things to know about Tim Walz
“I thought it was going to be Shapiro. My personal preference was for Josh Shapiro, but Tim Walz is a pretty solid pick,” Seth Taylor, a Georgia delegate, said. “He is a down-to-earth, plain-spoken, Midwesterner who reminds you of your dad in a way.”
Taylor said many of his fellow delegates, though surprised by Walz, are pleased with the pick.
Walz, a former high school teacher and Army National Guard veteran, has been one of the most staunch ers of Harris’ run for the White House. In countless media appearances, he helped popularize the “weird” moniker Democrats have bestowed upon the Trump-Vance campaign.
RELATED: Harris selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate, aiming to add Midwest muscle to ticket
But name recognition may be a weak point for the ticket. A new poll conducted by NPR, PBS and Marist shows 71% of Americans say they’ve never heard of Walz and don’t have an opinion of him. But in politics, that can be a blessing.
“He just needs to keep going on the campaign trail and introducing himself,” said Taylor. “Tim Walz started the trend of calling Trump and Vance ‘weird.’ I mean, that’s enough name recognition in itself.”
Walz’s counterpart, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, said he called Walz to congratulate him on his selection and even suggested the two debate once his nomination is solidified at the Democratic National Convention later this month.
But Vance also laid into Walz at a campaign rally Tuesday.
“Tim Walz’s record is a joke,” Vance told the crowd. “He’s been one of the most far-left radicals in the entire United States government.”
The Trump campaign echoed that sentiment, saying in a statement, “By picking Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris not only bent the knee to the radical left, she doubled down on her dangerously liberal, weak, and failed agenda.”
“Walz would be a rubber stamp for Kamala to wage war on American energy, continue aiding and abetting an invasion on our border, and embolden our adversaries as the world is brought to the brink of World War III,” the campaign said.
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