The 2024 Democratic presidential ticket is official.

Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to serve as her running mate, a candidate with Midwestern appeal whose plainspoken attacks against former President Donald Trump catapulted him ahead of other perhaps more likely vice presidential contenders.

Harris called Walz a battle tested leader in an email blast to campaign supporters after making the announcement public on social media.

Walz, in turn, called it, quote, an honor of a lifetime to be selected.

The 60 year old former teacher and Army National Guard veteran currently chairs the Democratic Governors Association and served for 12 years in Congress.

As senior political correspondent David Cruz reports.

Democrats have been quick to rally around Walz and the progressive policies he's championed.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is this guy getting hugs from kids after signing a school nutrition bill in 2023?

Oh, shucks is right.

But this is also Tim Walz talking about Republicans and launching the weird mean.

These are weird people on the.

Other side.

They want to take books away.

They want to be in your exam room.

That's what it comes down to.

And don't get sugarcoating this.

These are weird ideas.

They announce these things nowadays by what used to be called tweets.

First, Harris making her choice known, and then Walz accepting and reposting.

The pair were scheduled to appear jointly at a rally in Philadelphia today.

Reaction among Democrats, as you might expect, was pretty positive.

Arlene Quiñones Perez is a convention delegate.

Walz, she says, checks all the boxes on progressive policies, reproductive rights, health care, gun regulations, etc..

But his resume.

Army Reservist School teacher Governor, Congressman is what she thinks sets him apart.

Those are things that I think people can really gravitate to and say, wow, this guy knows how to govern.

So I think the difference between Kamala Harris's choice and, let's say, Trump's choices.

TRUMP To have someone that to me is not necessarily fit to be president if something was to happen to Donald Trump.

Yet you have someone that Kamala Harris has picked that is clearly someone competent that could absolutely take over if something happened to her as president.

Democratic insider Jeannine LaRue admits that was wasn't her first choice.

But she says he's a good one, providing contrast and a folksy demeanor that will appeal, she hopes, to moderate voters.

She has got to be the far right biggest nightmare because so far she's doing everything right.

I'm thrilled.

I'm absolutely thrilled.

And I'm I'm ready to take a leave or something to get on the campaign trail for a couple of months.

J.D.

Vance, Walz's Republican counterpart was ready with a quip as he boarded a plane to Philadelphia for what we assume is a separate event.

They make an interesting tag team because, of course, Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020 and then the few who got caught.

Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.

Analyst Micah Rasmussen prescribes to the first do no harm principle of VP picks.

He says in that regard, Walz played the last few weeks perfectly.

I think he won the the audition, I think, is what it is.

I think for the last few weeks he's been all over TV, He's been all over the cable shows.

He has proven himself to be very, very effective on the stump.

But I think that probably had a lot to do with him sort of coming out as out of nowhere for a lot of people and becoming a lot of people's favorite because he was so good out there and he made Democrats feel good.

And feeling good about the ticket is something Democrats need after a Biden candidacy that could have proven disastrous.

The tenor of the campaign has shifted, and Harris is showing that she's chosen a running mate who's just middle of the road enough to do no harm and maybe do some good.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.