United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the presidential election.
The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate will formally introduce Walz as her pick for the post of the vice president at a rally on Tuesday in Philadelphia city, AP reported.
The presidential election will take place in November.
Walz, who is a former school teacher, is serving his second term as the governor of Minnesota state. During his term, the state passed progressive legislation on universal school meals, legalised marijuana, abortion protections and gun control measures.
Harris was officially named the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate after online voting by the party’s delegates on Monday, AP reported. This makes her the first African American and Asian American woman to run for the office of the United States president.
Her candidature came after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race for re-election on July 21, amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party for him to end his campaign.
Biden endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Harris was Biden’s running mate in this year’s presidential campaign.
The 81-year-old’s withdrawal followed a series of comments by senior Democratic Party leaders urging him to quit the presidential race.
The calls grew after several party leaders and legislators were unhappy with Biden’s performance in the June 27 election debate with former President Donald Trump, who is the Republican Party’s presidential candidate this year.
Biden has, several times, failed to complete his sentences or made gaffes while speaking to the press and the public, leading to questions about whether he is fit enough to stay in office for another term.
Trump, who was the president between 2017 and 2021, accepted the Republican Party’s nomination on July 19. Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 election.
On July 15, Trump selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his candidate for the post of vice president.
Also read:
- What would a Kamala Harris presidency mean for India?
- Kamala Harris and why the US still has a problem with the idea of a woman president
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