Kamala Says Walz Wasn’t 1st Choice for VP: ‘Too Big of a Risk’
The article discusses Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign loss and the subsequent analysis of her choice of running mate, minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whose mistakes were seen as damaging to her bid. However,harris revealed in her forthcoming book “107 Days” that her first choice for vice president was actually Pete Buttigieg,the former Transportation secretary and South Bend mayor. She described Buttigieg as the “ideal partner” if she were a straight white man but decided against selecting him due to concerns about asking the country to accept multiple historic firsts at once-a Black woman candidate married to a Jewish man and a gay man running mate. Buttigieg, in response, expressed surprise at Harris’s reasoning, stating he believes voters focus more on policies than identity and that they never discussed these concerns. Both Harris and Buttigieg failed in their 2020 presidential bids but remain potential contenders for the 2028 Democratic nomination.
In the fallout from failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ 2024 election loss to President Donald Trump, many spent countless hours autopsying the Democratic campaign.
A common bit of analysis was that Harris made a sub-optimal running mate choice in Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose gaffes and poor vice presidential debate performance were considered watershed moments in Harris’ truncated campaign.
Turns out, Harris already agreed with that analysis — even before Walz’s campaign trail misfires.
Citing an excerpt from Harris’ forthcoming book “107 Days,” The Atlantic reported that Harris’ first choice for her vice presidential nominee was then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a self-described homosexual who claims to be married to another man.
Harris described the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor as the “ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.”
The former vice president claimed part of her came close to pulling the trigger on Buttigieg, but she couldn’t quite get there due to what they were “already asking” of the country.
“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” Harris wrote. “Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”
She continued: “And I think Pete also knew that — to our mutual sadness.”
But did he know that?
In a Politico exclusive, Buttigieg fired back and seemed to take issue with Harris’ logic.
The “surprised” former mayor said he believes in “giving Americans more credit” than to just assume that a ticket headlined by a black and Asian woman and a homosexual man would be automatically disqualified in the court of public opinion.
“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg told Politico.
“You just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them,” he added. “Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things.”
Buttigieg also seemed to take issue with the fact that Harris never broached him about this concern.
He said these apparent issues were “not something that we ever talked about.”
Harris has largely avoided the spotlight until promoting “107 Days,” with her non-bid for California governor being her most significant move.
Both Harris and Buttigieg have been brought up as potential 2028 Democratic presidential primary candidates. Both made similar bids in 2020, but both came up short to now-former President Joe Biden.
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