Former Vice President Kamala Harris admits in her new book that Gov. Tim Walz was not her first choice as a running mate and opens up about some of his stumbles during the 2024 presidential campaign, several news outlets reported this week.
In “107 Days,” Harris said 2020 presidential candidate and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who she considers a friend, would have been her first choice. Ultimately, she decided not to pick him because she believed it would be “too big of a risk” for a Black woman to tap a gay man for the job, Harris said in an excerpt of her book reported by The Atlantic.
Harris’ soon-to-be released book gives readers one of the first looks behind one of the shortest presidential campaigns in modern history, launched after former President Joe Biden left the race suddenly.
Harris wrote that Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.” She said she grappled with the fact that “we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”
Buttigieg responded to that passage in Harris’ book this week, seeming to say her fears were misplaced.
“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg said.
Citing Walz’s experience as a teacher, coach and governor, Harris announced plans to tap him as her running mate after his success on the cable news circuit. Walz had gone viral for declaring that Republicans were “really weird people‚" for their positions on abortion and book banning. The clip helped reframe the party’s attack on the GOP.
The publication of Harris’ book comes shortly after Walz announced he’s seeking an unprecedented third term as governor. Being at the top of the ticket as Harris’ running mate helped solidify him as a national Democratic figure. It also opened him up to greater scrutiny from Republicans. He is now tasked with choosing a running mate of his own as he looks to win a third term.
