Mass. politicians react to Harris picking Minnesota governor as running mate
Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz has been selected as Kamala Harris' running mate.
Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday she is "thrilled" with Kamala Harris' selection of Tim Walz as her running mate, calling herself a "proud colleague" of the second-term Minnesota governor.
Harris tapped Walz, a former U.S. congressman who is in his second term as governor of Minnesota, to be the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee in this fall's contest against Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance. Healey praised the selection in a statement released Tuesday by her campaign apparatus.
"If you want to see the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, just look at the quality and character of the person they chose as their running mate," the governor said. "Tim had a two decade career as a teacher and in the Army reserves before he became an elected official. He is a person of deep integrity and empathy. As Governor, Tim has been a champion for the working families of his state and brings a common-sense approach to getting things done for the people he serves. He will be an outstanding partner to Kamala Harris during this campaign and as her Vice President."
Walz chairs the Democratic Governors Association, an organization with which Healey has been active since she took office last year. In December, Healey was tapped to chair the DGA's Women Governors Fund, which launched in 2018 as the political organization's only fundraising effort focused solely on helping Democratic women win corner offices.
Walz does not appear to have many ties to Massachusetts. He taught in China through a Harvard University exchange program around 1990, according to the New York Times, but he holds degrees from Chadron State College in Nebraska and Minnesota State University at Mankato.
As a member of Congress in 2016, Walz worked with Mass. Congressman Seth Moulton to defend the Post-9/11 GI Bill from potential cuts, and former state Rep. Marty Walz said on X last week that her family claims the Minnesota governor -- and her desired VP choice -- as a cousin.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu heaped praise on Walz, too, saying during an interview on GBH News's "Boston Public Radio" that his work as governor, in Congress and background as a teacher offers a "perfect combination."
The Trump campaign immediately painted Walz as someone "obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide," pointing to his "carbon-free agenda" and support for stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars.
"It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare."
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