Walz en route to Philadelphia for campaign rally with HarrisTim Walz has left his residence in St Paul to make the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he will appear alongside Kamala Harris at a campaign rally this evening.People cheer as Tim Walz departs for a campaign rally in Philadelphia. Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesThe rally will mark Walz’s first official campaign appearance since Harris selected him as her running mate earlier today. Minnesotans gathered outside his residence to watch their governor depart.After the Philadelphia rally, Harris and Walz are set to appear at a series of events in battleground states across the country – with stops planned in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.ShareKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureMike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, joined other members of his party in condemning Tim Walz as a “progressive running mate who has voiced support for socialism”.“No amount of spin from the campaign or the media can distract from the objective facts and the disastrous records of Harris and Walz,” Johnson said in a statement.“I look forward to highlighting the vast differences between the most radical leftwing ticket in American history and the America First agenda that President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance are fighting for every day.”Democrats have rejected that characterization of Walz, with Nancy Pelosi telling MSNBC this morning: “He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland-of-America Democrat.”ShareUpdated at 20.28 CESTWalz en route to Philadelphia for campaign rally with HarrisTim Walz has left his residence in St Paul to make the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he will appear alongside Kamala Harris at a campaign rally this evening.People cheer as Tim Walz departs for a campaign rally in Philadelphia. Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesThe rally will mark Walz’s first official campaign appearance since Harris selected him as her running mate earlier today. Minnesotans gathered outside his residence to watch their governor depart.After the Philadelphia rally, Harris and Walz are set to appear at a series of events in battleground states across the country – with stops planned in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.ShareSam LevineAmong the many progressive accomplishments of Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor has quite an impressive record on voting rights.Ever since Democrats gained full control of the state legislature in 2022, Walz and his fellow Democrats have enacted virtually every reform championed by voting rights groups. This includes:

Changing Minnesota law to allow people with a felony conviction to vote once they are released from prison (they previously had to complete probation and parole)

Enacting automatic voter registration and allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote

Allowing voters in Minnesota to sign up to automatically receive a mail-in ballot for each election

Approving a state-level Voting Rights Act to protect the interests of minority voters
Read more about Walz’s record as governor:ShareUpdated at 20.20 CESTDemocratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has picked her running mate, and it is the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz. He’s called Donald Trump and JD Vance “weird”, but will he be able to pull in enough support for Harris?Jonathan Freedland is joined by the political commentator Molly Jong-Fast on a new episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly America podcast to discuss whether Harris made the right pick and if Republicans should be worried:Politics Weekly AmericaKamala Harris picks her running mateSorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen $https://audio.guim.co.uk/2024/08/06-59989-gdn.pwa.240806.ds.Harris_picks_Tim_Walz.mp3ShareUpdated at 19.48 CESTDemocrats are mocking one particular part of the Trump campaign’s statement issued in response to Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate.Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign press secretary, said in the statement: “From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide.”Walz did indeed sign a bill last year making it easier for people with a felony conviction to vote in Minnesota. And Democrats noted that Trump himself could benefit from such a law, as he was recently convicted on 34 felony counts in New York.One person asked on X: “Is it the Trump campaign’s position that Donald Trump should not be allowed to vote?”ShareUpdated at 19.37 CESTSenator Joe Manchin, an independent of West Virginia who caucuses with Democrats, offered a flattering review of Kamala Harris’s decision to tap Tim Walz as her running mate.“My friend Governor Tim Walz will bring normality back to the most chaotic political environment that most of us have ever seen,” Manchin said in a statement.“All of the candidates were strong and any one of them would have been a great pick, but I can think of no one better than Governor Walz to help bring our country closer together and bring balance back to the Democratic party. Governor Walz is the real deal. I look forward to continuing to work with him to bring normalcy back to Washington.”The statement is noteworthy considering Manchin has previously clashed with progressive Democrats. His praise could help Democrats rebut Republicans’ claims that Walz is a “dangerously liberal extremist”.ShareUpdated at 19.23 CESTLabor leaders appear thrilled with Kamala Harris’s choice of running mate, praising Tim Walz as a champion of working Americans who will help the next Democratic president deliver for the middle class.“Tim Walz has been a great governor and is going to make a great vice-president. He’s stood with the working class every step of the way, and has walked the walk, including on a UAW picket line last fall,” said Shawn Fain, president of United Auto Workers.“We’re ready to send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House to keep delivering for the working class, and we’re excited to welcome them both to Detroit this week.”Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, described Walz as “an unabashed champion for families, for public education, for educators and other workers throughout his life in public service”.“He knows the promise of public education. He shares our commitment to solving problems and forging a future in which all Americans can get ahead, not just get by,” Weingarten said.“The AFT’s 1.8 million members will stand with Walz and Harris over the next 12 weeks as they campaign to realize the promise and potential of America. We will hit the road to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance from coast to coast and keep their extremist policies out of the White House for good. The future starts here – and we are not going back.”Public education advocates may be breathing a sigh of relief that Harris did not choose Josh Shapiro as her running mate, considering the Pennsylvania governor’s past support for private school vouchers.Tim Walz at Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis and St Paul in 2017. Photograph: ZUMA Press Inc/AlamyShareUpdated at 19.02 CESTThe Trump campaign has released a new ad attacking Tim Walz as a “leftwing extremist”, echoing previous criticisms of Kamala Harris.“Kamala Harris just doubled down on her radical vision for America,” the ad’s narrator says. “Tim Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala’s dangerously liberal agenda.”The ad concludes: “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz: they’re failed, weak and dangerously liberal.”The full ad is here:ShareUpdated at 18.49 CESTVance says he left Walz a voicemail congratulating himRepublican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance said he left a voicemail congratulating Tim Walz on his selection as Kamala Harris’s running mate.“I actually called Tim Walz. I left a voicemail. I didn’t get him,” Vance told reporters.“But I just said, look, congratulations. Look forward to a robust conversation. Enjoy the ride. And maybe he’ll call me back, maybe he won’t.”Before Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Harris had accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate Trump’s running mate in mid-August. But the timing and venue of a vice-presidential debate is now up in the air.ShareUpdated at 18.29 CESTBiden calls on Americans to rally behind Harris and WalzJoe Biden celebrated Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate, encouraging all Americans to rally behind the new Democratic nominee after he dropped out of the presidential race last month.“I’ve known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as Governor,” Biden said 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 first major decision a party nominee makes is their choice for Vice President. And Kamala Harris has made a great decision in choosing Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate.I’ve known Tim Walz for nearly two decades, first during his time in Congress and as Governor. A…— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 6, 2024Biden went on to say:
The Harris-Walz ticket will be a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class. 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.
Every generation of Americans faces a moment where they are asked to defend American democracy. That moment is now.
ShareUpdated at 18.17 CEST