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Interpretation and Guests

Wang Yiwei, Professor of the School of International Relations, Renmin University of China

Diao Daming, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China

Zhang Jiadong, professor at Center for American Studies, Fudan University

With less than 100 days to go before the US election, the election situation between the two parties is becoming increasingly stalemate.

On August 6 local time, US Vice President Harris, who has secured the Democratic presidential nomination, chose Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz as her running mate.

Why did Harris make this choice? What impact will Waltz's joining have on the election?

01

Who is Waltz?

Deeply cultivating the Democratic Party's vote base for many years

On July 21, US President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, and Harris took over. Reference News quoted US media reports that Harris recently interviewed several potential candidates and consulted important party figures including former President Obama, and finally narrowed the candidates to two people - Minnesota Governor Waltz and Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro.

Born in 1964, Waltz is from a rural community in Nebraska. He joined the National Guard at the age of 17 and participated in many domestic and international missions, serving for 24 years.

Before entering politics, Waltz worked as a sociology teacher and football coach at a high school in Minnesota, and led the team to win the state championship. In 1989, Waltz came to China for a year through an exchange program at Harvard University, teaching American history, culture and English at a middle school in Guangdong.

In 1996, Waltz returned to his wife's hometown of Minnesota and began participating in Democrat John Kerry's local campaign in 2004. In 2006, Waltz ran for the first time and was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served for 12 years.

In 2018, Waltz defeated Republican candidate Jeff Johnson and was elected Governor of Minnesota. During his term, Waltz issued the first ban in the United States prohibiting employers from forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings, protected women's reproductive rights, and introduced a new paid family and medical leave system.

In May this year, as tickets for the concert of popular American singer Taylor Swift were in short supply, a large number of "scalpers" emerged who resold the tickets at high prices. Waltz also signed the so-called "Taylor Swift Act" to curb the speculative sale of concert tickets.

02

Why did Harris choose him?

For the sake of balancing partners and attracting voters, etc.

Harris is from California and has little influence in rural areas and the Midwest. Some analysts believe that she urgently needs a running mate who has influence in the Midwest or the "Sun Belt" states.

According to a commentary by AFP quoted by the Global Times, Harris' identity as a woman of color needs to be balanced by the choice of a white male partner to help counter Republican attacks on her for being too left-leaning, and Waltz's background will also help the Democratic Party consolidate the support of rural voters.

It is worth mentioning that before being selected as Harris' running mate, Waltz had bluntly defended Biden, who lost the debate. However, after Biden withdrew from the race and chose to "endorse" Harris, Waltz expressed his support for Harris the next day.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, believes that when presidential candidates in the U.S. election choose their vice presidential candidates, they must consider multiple factors such as race, gender, experience, loyalty and place of origin, all of which are ultimately for the purpose of serving the election.

"Harris will tend to choose a white male with local administrative experience for reasons such as balancing her partner and attracting more voters." In the view of Zhang Jiadong, a professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, before becoming governor of Minnesota, Waltz successfully ran for Congress in a Republican-leaning district and was considered good at building connections with rural white voters, many of whom currently support Trump's camp.

03

The election situation between the two parties is becoming increasingly stalemate

What will he bring?

According to CCTV News, mainstream media and election analysts in the United States believe that Harris and Trump are currently in a stalemate. Poll data shows that as of August 6, Harris leads Trump by an average of 0.2 percentage points in national polls, but in key "swing states", Trump leads by 1.5 percentage points.

Over the past period of time, fierce attacks have broken out between the Republican and Democratic camps. With less than 100 days to go before the US presidential election, Harris and Trump are investing about 98% of their campaign ads in five of the traditional "swing states."

Choosing a running mate is the first and most critical decision made by a U.S. political party's presidential nominee.

Xinhua News Agency quoted a recent survey released by the National Public Radio (NPR) in collaboration with other media and polling organizations, showing that most Americans are unfamiliar with Waltz, with 71% of American adults having never heard of Waltz or being unsure how to evaluate him.

The Global Times quoted CNN on August 7 as saying that the choice of vice president has not been a decisive factor in the election for many years. For Harris, the dramatic progress in the process of selecting a running mate will provide her with new opportunities to enhance the momentum of the campaign and inject vitality into the Democratic Party, which once seemed to be on the verge of defeat. At the same time, she must deal with the rapidly changing environment at home and abroad.

Diao Daming, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, believes that for Harris to achieve the next victory, she may need to present an image of a presidential candidate different from Biden, play to her strengths different from Biden, and provide clearer election information.

"The domestic and foreign issues affecting the U.S. elections today are all major issues with sharp contradictions and conflicts. This is America's dilemma." In Diao Daming's view, in this election, faced with these major issues, neither party was able to balance voters' demands and the support of special interest groups through policy adjustments, resulting in both parties' policies favoring the interests of a minority and being unable to effectively respond to the demands of the vast majority of voters.

Cover News reporter Zhao Yusheng