On August 6, before the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris may have made one of the biggest mistakes of her campaign by choosing Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, as her running mate and candidate for vice president.
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Walz had gained notoriety on social media by calling Republicans “weirdos” and was supposed to help the Democratic candidate among young people. Also, being a teacher and former American football coach at a high school in the Midwest, the governor could play a key role in winning in Wisconsin and Michigan.
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But none of that happened.
Men under 30 were seduced by Trump's style and Harris lost Wisconsin and Michigan, two states that Joe Biden had won four years earlier.
To make matters worse, Walz lost in his county of Blue Earth, Minnesota, where Trump received 49.6% of the votes against Harris' 48.3%. However, the state voted predominantly for the Democratic ticket with 51% of the preferences.
Why did Harris make a mistake in choosing Walz?
Except during the Democratic Convention and the first weeks of Harris' campaign, Tim Walz did not have much relevance and rarely appeared alongside the vice president. In addition, he had to admit that he lied or exaggerated some data from his political life and appeared erratic in the debate against Republican J.D. Vance in early October.
The main problem for Walz is that Harris had better alternatives to choose as a running mate, particularly Josh Shapiro, the popular governor of Pennsylvania, the state that was considered most important prior to the presidential elections on November 5th.
In 2022, Shapiro won 56% of the votes in the gubernatorial elections, while Harris only managed to get 49% in that state against Donald Trump.