Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, touting the “many different assets” he brings to the ticket.
“Vice President Harris is picking a uniter for not just the Democratic Party but for the entire United States,” Ocasio-Cortez said of him on “CBS Mornings.”
Harris announced the popular two-term governor as her running mate Tuesday morning, and hours later, the pair appeared together at a packed campaign rally in Philadelphia to debut the the Democratic ticket. Walz is a veteran, former high school social studies teacher and former congressman who represented rural communities and as governor has enacted progressive priorities. The two are campaigning across the battleground states this week.
Ocasio-Cortez celebrated the selection of Walz, saying his addition to ticket means that “we are seeing every American — rural America, suburban America, urban America — regardless of identity.”
Harris’ selection of Walz prompted praise across wide swaths of the Democratic Party. On one side, Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia independent who caucuses with Democrats, welcomed Walz’s selection, saying he could “think of no one better than Governor Walz to help bring our country closer together and bring balance back to the Democratic Party.”
And on the other, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket on Tuesday, saying the ticket will “bring together the entire Democratic coalition” to win in November.
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the small but influential group of House progressives known as “the squad,” quipped on social media on Tuesday that “it’s not common” for her and Manchin to be on the same side of an issue, noting that it speaks to “how powerfully uniting this is.”