Harris Team Clarifies Position After California Fundraiser

By
Rachel Stevenson
-

Ah, the Democrats’ dance with the Electoral College—here we go again. This time, it’s Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who’s got himself tangled up in knots over the whole thing. Walz recently declared that “the Electoral College needs to go,” calling for a national popular vote at a fundraiser hosted by California’s favorite progressive, Governor Gavin Newsom. But as soon as those comments started making waves, the Harris campaign quickly backpedaled, insisting that his stance didn’t reflect their official position. Now, Walz is doing what Democrats do best when they’ve got themselves in a jam—staying silent and hoping it all blows over.

But let’s be real. Walz’s comments didn’t come out of nowhere. Democrats have been itching to scrap the Electoral College ever since 2016 when Donald Trump won the presidency despite Hillary Clinton’s popular vote victory. It’s no secret that they’d prefer if California and New York had a little more sway in deciding who gets to sit in the Oval Office. And, of course, Walz echoed those sentiments right in the backyard of progressive elites—Newsom’s home. Talk about knowing your audience.

Yet, when pressed by Fox News Digital, the Harris-Walz team didn’t exactly rush to clarify. Instead, they offered a carefully worded statement to media favorites like CNN and USA Today. Suddenly, we’re supposed to believe that Walz’s comment about ditching the Electoral College was just some offhand remark to rally the donors. According to the campaign, Walz actually supports the system and is all about “earning support for the Harris-Walz ticket” to reach that magic 270 electoral votes. Sure, because nothing says “I love the Electoral College,” like telling your biggest donors it should be abolished.

Meanwhile, Harris has been tiptoeing around this issue for years. Back in 2019, she said she was “open” to the idea of getting rid of the Electoral College. But now that she’s running for the top job, her campaign insists that’s not the official stance. It’s almost as if they’re hoping voters won’t notice the flip-flopping. And after Walz’s latest comments, it’s clear that the messaging between the VP candidate and her running mate is, well, less than unified.

But let’s look at the bigger picture here. The calls to eliminate the Electoral College aren’t new. Hillary Clinton has been railing against it ever since she lost in 2016, claiming that America should “move beyond it.” And Rep. Jamie Raskin took it a step further, suggesting that keeping the Electoral College could literally have “deadly consequences.” Well, if that’s not a way to scare people into supporting your agenda, I don’t know what is.

It’s obvious why Democrats love this idea. As Jason Snead from the Honest Elections Project Action puts it, “Democrat leaders don’t think they should have to campaign in places like Michigan and North Carolina, they want California and New York to decide every election.” He’s right—why waste time shaking hands in the heartland when you can just focus on the population centers? After all, if the Electoral College is gone, the Democrats can kiss those pesky swing states goodbye and focus on racking up votes in their strongholds.

And let’s not forget that Walz has already put his money where his mouth is. Earlier this year, he signed Minnesota onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This little gem promises to give the state’s electoral votes to whoever wins the national popular vote, regardless of how Minnesotans actually vote. Right now, it’s a long way from taking effect—supporters only have 209 of the 270 electoral votes needed. But it’s a perfect example of how Democrats plan to get their way, one state at a time, if they can’t do it through the usual channels.

So here we are, with Walz and the Harris campaign trying to have it both ways. On the one hand, they’re nodding along to progressives’ calls to ditch the Electoral College, but on the other, they’re claiming to play by the rules of the system they’re so eager to dismantle. It’s the classic Democrat move—talking out of both sides of their mouth while hoping the media spins it in their favor. But voters aren’t as easily fooled as they think, and in battleground states where every vote counts, those mixed messages might just come back to bite them.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR