When Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in August, the choice was seen as a move to balance out her presidential ticket and help broaden her appeal to working-class voters.
Democrats bet his bonafides as a former high school teacher, veteran, and gun owner with folksy charm would help Harris, who has been criticized for being inauthentic and a flip-flopper on policy.
But for all of Walz’s midwestern “dad energy,” his record and penchant for tall tales will be in the spotlight on Oct. 1 when he faces Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) in a vice presidential debate. In what is undoubtedly the largest stage of his political career, Walz risks undermining Harris even further at a time when her campaign is desperate to capitalize on another inflection point.
Since becoming her running mate, Walz has been praised for his down-to-earth, “aw shucks” approach that has played well to Democrats. His ability to connect to everyday voters in a party that has traditionally come off as elitist was an early boon for the Harris ticket. Of the four candidates on the two-party tickets, Walz is consistently the only one whose favorability rating outstripped his unfavorability rating.
While Walz has moved crowds at rallies, there are a growing number of examples that show the Democratic governor has either exaggerated or outright lied about his past.
These unforced errors have sowed doubt in voters’ minds about whether they can trust what he’s saying. This comes at a time when Harris herself has been criticized for flip-flopping on several major policy items, including immigration, fracking, the Green New Deal, and the Zero Emissions Vehicle Act. Thus, Walz’s lack of credibility could exacerbate a key Harris weakness.
Republicans have charged that Harris’s reversals are evidence she can’t be trusted. Walz was supposed to be a stabilizing, reassuring factor, but his missteps have worked in the opposite direction.
Walz and Vance will make their pitches to undecided voters in battleground states on everything from immigration, to abortion, and the economy. Their face-to-face will come just weeks after the first, and likely only, debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump.
National polls swing back and forth to indicate which candidate is ahead in the tight race. The RealClearPolitics national average has Harris on 49.1% and Trump at 47.1%.
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