A majority of Americans are not familiar with Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), according to a survey released Tuesday before the president announced her running mate.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents in the NPR/PBS News/Marist National poll, 71 percent, said they didn’t know enough about Walz to form an opinion of him. Of the remaining respondents, 17 percent had a favorable opinion and 12 percent viewed him unfavorably.
Walz’s selection ended the highly anticipated Democratic vice presidential race, beating out Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D).
The same survey also found that fellow finalists Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) had higher name recognition, but that did not appear to deter Harris from her decision.
While early speculation about who the vice president might recruit to his campaign in November has focused on other big names, notably Shapiro and Kelly, Walz has emerged as a possible second-place, dark horse candidate.
But the Minnesota governor has seen a significant increase in his profile over the past week, especially after he made headlines by deriding Republicans as “wackos” in a cable news interview — a line of attack later adopted by the Democratic National Committee.
The selection drew praise from both progressive and moderate Democrats.
“Vice President Harris made an excellent decision in selecting Governor Walz as her running mate,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Posts “Together, they will govern effectively, comprehensively and boldly for the American people. From health care to school lunches, they will never back down when the going gets tough,” he said in a statement on social media platform X.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), the first House Democrat to call for Biden’s resignation, described Walz as “a solid, decent former colleague with a good sense of humor, a former teacher and military veteran who represented a district in Minnesota that is normally represented by Republicans.”
“It’s hard not to get along with serious Tim.” Doggett Posted in X. “As governor, he will be a forthright, compassionate leader who will deliver the progress we need.”
Before entering politics, Waltz was a teacher, teaching high school social studies and coaching football, including as defensive coordinator for the 1999 state championship team.
He also served 24 years in the Army National Guard, enlisting at age 17 and rising to the rank of artillery sergeant, before retiring in 2005 to run for Congress.
Walz became governor in 2018 after serving six terms in the House of Representatives representing rural Minnesota. He was popular among his colleagues in Congress and held the honor of being the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in Congress’ history.
A recent poll also found that 46% of Americans have a favorable view of Harris, while 44% have a favorable view of Trump. The poll also found that 34% of Americans have a favorable view of Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
The NPR/PBS/Marist poll was conducted Aug. 1-4 among 1,613 adults and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
