Kamala Harris is offering new details on why she picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election.
In her just-released book, 107 Days, Harris recounts the shortest presidential campaign in modern history — and why Walz ultimately stood out over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
“It was quickly clear to me that Tim had walked into that room feeling he wouldn’t get the job,” Harris wrote about their interview. “The first thing he said as he sat down—I don’t even know if the door had closed behind him—was: ‘Whether or not you pick me, I’m going to do everything I can to get you elected.’”
Harris said Walz immediately began downplaying himself, calling out his flaws instead of overselling his strengths. “I’m not a good debater. I’ve never used a teleprompter,” he told her. She described his manner as authentic, not staged.
“He said he had no ambition to be president, that his aim as vice president would be doing meaningful work to improve people’s lives,” Harris wrote. That stood out to her, especially compared to Shapiro, who she worried had political ambitions that might clash with loyalty.
Her meeting with Shapiro left a different impression. “In our meeting [Shapiro] was, as always, poised, polished, and personable,” Harris recalled. But she said his desire to be “in the room for every decision” made her uneasy. “A vice president is not a copresident,” she bluntly told him.
Kelly, meanwhile, raised concerns for her because of his short time in politics. “Could a captain, used to deference and respect, adapt to an opponent’s national campaign specifically designed to disrespect him, to cut a hero down to something small?” she wrote.
Most of Harris’ circle leaned toward Walz, and even her teenage godson liked him best. But the final decision, Harris said, had to be hers. “I told my staff and family that I didn’t want any more input, and I went to do something practical: I made a tasty rub and seasoned a pork roast.”
By the end of that night, she had made her choice: Tim Walz.