Until Tuesday morning, it looked like Vice President Kamala Harris would improve her chances of winning these unpredictable swing states by nominating popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her likely running mate.
Instead, she chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a candidate whose liberal credibility rivals her own, in a clear attempt to appease the left wing of her party.
In doing so, she may have given Donald Trump and the Republican Party the greatest gift they could have wished for at this stage of the election campaign: a Democratic slate of candidates with no room for moderates.
Shapiro, who was still the favorite on Monday night, is Jewish and a staunch pro-Israel supporter, making him an unfavorable choice for the vocal left, but he is more in line with the views of most Americans.
His selection would have softened Harris’ pro-Palestinian leanings.
Rather, Walz shares Harris’ sympathies; his selection should be seen as a departure from the administration’s current Israel policy.
In addition, unlike Shapiro, Walz does not govern a swing state.
Pennsylvania will play a crucial role in the November election, and leaving Shapiro out could jeopardize Democrats’ safety.
Although Minnesota is a special case politically, it is generally a stronghold of progress.
Under Walz’s watch, Minnesota was the epicenter of the George Floyd riots of 2020, which saw the destruction of huge swathes of Minneapolis.
The state government – again with Walz at the helm – has also been embroiled in a series of scandals, including a $250 million fraud case involving the use of federal pandemic relief funds.
With his policies on abortion – he signed a law enshrining the right to this procedure – and gender reassignment, Walz is far to the left of many in his own party.
His selection is, to say the least, telling.
There is a precedent for this too.
Harris choosing Walz is practically the same as Trump choosing Ohio Senator JD Vance.
With this decision, Harris reaffirms her most extreme political positions and shows not only the direction she wants to take her party, but also how convinced she is of this course.
While Trump’s selection of Vance was an appeasement of the populist right, the election of Walz is a very similar signal for the left: a clear sign that the party is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for the center.
It is a bold and risky step.
In an election cycle as unpredictable as this one, it’s hard to predict what will happen next.
But it seems as though Trump and his campaign team have been given a gift. What they do with it remains to be seen.
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