Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, from Flickr)
Top Florida Republicans wasted no time Aug. 6 in trashing Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, labeling the choice as solidifying “the most left-wing ticket in American history,” in the words of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A former high school teacher, football coach and member of the Army National Guard, Walz is serving his second term as Minnesota governor, having first been elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He previously served 12 years in Congress (2006-2018). In his last congressional election in 2016, he carried his district by just two points, as it moved from Obama + 2 to Trump + 15, according to Elections Daily.
Walz has been positioned in the media as a progressive in the vice-presidential sweepstakes, certainly more liberal-leaning than Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, considered the other top Democrat in the mix. And Florida Republicans unloaded immediately on social media that the selection of the Minnesota governor made the Democratic ticket too “extreme” for the country.
“Harris-Walz: most left-wing ticket in American history,” DeSantis wrote on X. “Minnesota was ground zero for the BLM riots of 2020. Harris egged it on and Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.”
In comments in Steinhatchee while giving an update on Hurricane Debby response, DeSantis made reference to the unrest in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“Those were riots that Harris egged on and raised money to bail out the rioters with Minnesota bail fund, and they were riots that Tim Walz as governor sat back and let happen,” DeSantis said. “He sat back and let the city of Minneapolis burn. That city has been gutted as a result of those riots. We would never allow that to happen in the state of Florida. This is a ticket that represents the spirit of those 2020 BLM [Black Lives Matter] riots.”
“Harris/Walz is the most radical ticket in U.S. history,” echoed Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on X. “The Green New Deal, open borders, defunding the police, men in women’s sports, destroying the middle class. The list goes on and on. They are hellbent on bringing California socialism to every state, and we’re ready to fight like hell to stop them.”
‘Dangerously liberal’
“If dangerously liberal Kamala Harris was not enough, she has now added another extreme liberal to her ticket,” said Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power on X. “Tim Waltz’s agenda works against the values that make the American Dream possible. His pro illegal immigrant and pro green new deal policies are enough to make him untenable to a great majority of American people.”
Power followed up in a subsequent message that Harris had “folded to the radical left and antisemitic forces in her party, skipping over Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, has sustained a barrage of attacks in recent days from the far-left base within the Democrat Party.”
As governor, Walz signed legislation requiring background checks for private transfers of pistols and semiautomatic weapons and limited the use of “no knock warrants” for the police. He signed a law providing free school breakfast and lunch for all Minnesota students at participating schools. He signed laws that protect seekers and providers of gender-affirming health care from prosecution by states with bans in effect. He codified abortion rights in the state constitution, banned conversion therapy, and made it illegal for libraries to ban books, according to the Hill.
Although the ascension of Harris as nominee last month energized Florida Democrats tremendously, there is little expectation that she will defeat Donald Trump in the Sunshine State this year. A University of North Florida public opinion poll published July 30 showed Trump leading Harris, 49%-42%.
This story is courtesy of Florida Phoenix.
Florida Phoenix is a nonprofit news site, free of advertising and free to readers, covering state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
