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US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday.
Harris announced the selection in a text message to supporters.
Walz, a 60-year-old US Army National Guard veteran and former teacher, was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the US House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018.
As governor, Walz has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for Minnesota workers.
Walz has long advocated for women’s reproductive rights but also displayed a conservative bent while representing a rural district in the US House, defending agricultural interests and backing gun rights.
Harris is adding a popular Midwestern politician whose home state votes reliably for Democrats in presidential elections but is close to Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial battlegrounds.
Such states are seen as crucial in deciding the November 5 election, and Walz is widely seen as skilled at connecting with white, rural voters who in recent years have voted broadly for the Republican Donald Trump, Harris’ rival for the White House.
Harris chose Walz over Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, who had been seen as essential to delivering his crucial battleground state.
Harris became the Democratic Party’s standard bearer after US President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign last month. Since then, she has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and recast the race against Trump with a boost of energy from her party’s base.
Harris was expected to appear with her running mate at an event in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening.