A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, a source familiar to the campaign tells NPR. The last-minute decision follows a whirlwind couple of weeks for Harris. Here to discuss the choice is NPR senior political editor and correspondent, Domenico Montanaro. So it was a battle between two governors - Walz from Minnesota and then Shapiro from Pennsylvania. Why do you think Walz got the nod, Domenico?
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Well, when people talk about Walz is - you know, they look at his personality. He's a happy warrior. People seem to get along with him. They like him quite a lot. Certainly Capitol Hill progressives were pushing for him to be the person. And, you know, this was said to be about vibes. And, you know, we know that Harris met with the finalists, and it seemed that, you know, sleeping on it, she got along with Walz and had a good feeling about it and picked him.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, he's the one that coined the phrase weird, or the viral meme weird in describing Donald Trump and JD Vance. So, tell us about Tim Walz - who is he?
MONTANARO: Well, he's Minnesota governor. He was born and raised in rural Nebraska. He's in his second term as Minnesota governor. He's the head of the Democratic Governors Association. So there's some thought that he has some ability to raise some money, bring some cash to the ticket as well. He's a veteran of the Army National Guard. And you know, he didn't really know Harris very well before these past couple of weeks, but impressed her, and he does have these connections on Capitol Hill. So he's also kind of a governing pick as well. And really, as you noted, him coining this phrase, weird. A lot of this is about messaging. He's very good at it, and he's really somebody who two weeks ago was not on the tips of people's lips for who could get this job, but clearly know, talked his way into it with that and with his personality.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, you've been analyzing the electoral map and all the possible paths to the presidency for Kamala Harris. So what does Tim Walz do for her chances?
MONTANARO: Yeah, this is squarely a blue wall pick. Minnesota is not a swing state necessarily. But the hope for Democrats is that he can appeal to white middle of the road voters in places like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which make up that blue wall, and if Harris is able to hold those states, then she would very likely win the presidency. You know, these are the very voters who are key to really winning in the blue wall. Harris and Trump right now tied in these places when I looked at the electoral map this week. Democrats hope that they can provide a contrast also with the Trump and JD Vance ticket, and it's ironic because Vance was picked to try to appeal to these very same voters, but he's had a rough go these first couple of weeks, and the first rule of being a vice presidential running mate is do no harm. And his - right now his favorability rating is not very good.
Our latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll is out this morning. Fifty-five percent of independents have an unfavorable rating of Vance. For Tim Walz, he's far less known. Seventy-one percent in our poll said that they don't have an opinion of who he is or are unsure of him. And that means these next couple of weeks are going to be big before the Democratic Convention, crucial not just to defining him, but in who this new Harris-Walz ticket is.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and you mentioned this week coming up. I mean, it's a whirlwind week - right? - starting now.
MONTANARO: Absolutely. Big travel week coming up - they're going to be hitting all seven of the big states, the three blue wall states we mentioned, as well as the four sunbelt states - Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina. We're going to be watching to see their dynamic together and with voters, and if he can make that appeal outside of just progressives.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's senior political editor and correspondent, Domenico Montanaro. Thanks a lot.
MONTANARO: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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