WASHINGTON, August 6. /TASS/. US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party presidential contender, said she selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the November election.
"I've asked Tim Walz to be my running mate," she said on X.
Walz, 60, has been the governor of Minnesota since 2019, reelected for another term in 2022. Before his role as governor, he was a member of the US House of Representatives for 12 years. From 1981 to 2005 he served in the Army National Guard and retired as Command Sergeant Major.
US news media reported that Walz belongs to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. As governor of Minnesota, he, among other things, signed laws to protect the right to abortion, legalize the use of marijuana, and introduce restrictions on the sale of firearms. He often criticizes the Republican Party and its presidential candidate Donald Trump. According to US news reports, Walz earned spotlight by describing the Republicans as "weirdos."
Walz condemned Russia's special military operation. When it started, he banned investments from Minnesota to Russia and Belarus, and any contracts between the state and these countries. In April 2023, he took part in a virtual meeting of US governors with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The governors then expressed support to Kiev.
Walz also condemned the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, which was accompanied by the killing of residents of border communities and the taking of more than 240 hostages. However, he called for deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza. If Harris wins the upcoming election, Walz will have to resign as governor, and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan will discharge his duties until the end of his term in 2026.
The US will hold a presidential election on November 5. Incumbent US President Joe Biden was earlier expected to be nominated for reelection as at a Democratic Party convention in Chicago, which is scheduled for August 19-22. However, after Biden's fiasco at the televised election debate with Trump on June 27, calls intensified for the incumbent president to quit the race. Further developments caused the electorate’s support for Biden to tank. On July 21, he decided to step down from the race and supported the nomination of Harris as a candidate for the top US office.