Harris’ pick of Walz amps up excitement in Midwestern states

LANSING, Michigan (AP):

Vice-President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov Tim Walz are spending their first full day as running mates on Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House in less than three months.

The trip, which begins in Wisconsin before shifting to Michigan, is aimed at shoring up support among the younger, diverse, labour-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. But that coalition showed signs of fraying over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a focal point of Democratic divisions over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

With Biden now out of the race and Harris officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by the running mate choice. Walz’s addition to the ticket has soothed some tensions, signalling to some community leaders that Harris heard concerns about another leading contender for the vice-presidential slot, Gov Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who they felt had gone too far in his support for Israel.

SIGN OF GOOD FAITH

“The party is recognising that there’s a coalition they have to rebuild,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan. “Picking Walz is another sign of good faith.”

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat seeking a third term, appeared with Harris at a campaign stop there last month in suburban Milwaukee, and said in a fundraising email on Tuesday morning that she was “thrilled to see a fellow Midwesterner at the top of the ticket.”

Donald Trump had put a similar emphasis on appealing to voters in Midwestern states with his choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential pick. Vance bracketed the Harris-Walz ticket with appearances in the same states on Wednesday.

Vance used his Michigan appearance to blame Harris for illegal immigration that he said is leading to more crime. It was an attempt to hit Harris on an issue that motivates Republican-leaning voters, as well as a pushback against Walz, who, in his Tuesday speech in Philadelphia, stressed that violent crime had been higher during Trump’s presidency.

“We’ve got to throw Kamala Harris out of office, not give her a promotion,” Vance said, arguing that the former prosecutor was not on the side of the police.

In Michigan, leaders say Democratic enthusiasm has surged since Harris announced her candidacy.

That could be pivotal in Detroit, which is nearly 80 per cent black, where leaders for months had warned administration officials that voter apathy could cost them in a city that’s typically a stronghold for their party. Rev Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit branch, said the excitement in the city now is “mind-blowing”. He likened it to Barack Obama’s first run for president in 2008, when voters waited in long lines to help elect the nation’s first black president.