Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spent their first full day as running mates on August 7 rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House in less than three months.
The trip, which began in Wisconsin before shifting to Michigan, was aimed at shoring up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election.
But that coalition showed signs of fraying over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a focal point of Democratic divisions over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
With President Biden now out of the race and Vice President Harris officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by the running mate choice.
Walz’s addition to the ticket has soothed some tensions, signaling to some community leaders that Vice President Harris heard concerns about another leading contender for the vice presidential slot, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who they felt had gone too far in his support for Israel.
“The party is recognizing that there’s a coalition they have to rebuild,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan. “Picking Walz is another sign of good faith.”
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat seeking a third term, appeared with Vice President Harris at a campaign stop there last month in suburban Milwaukee, and said in a fundraising email that she was “thrilled to see a fellow Midwesterner at the top of the ticket.”
Donald Trump had put a similar emphasis on appealing to voters in Midwestern states with his choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential pick, when the RNC was held in Milwaukee in July. Vance is bracketing the Harris-Walz ticket with appearances in the same states on August 7.
The Republican started his day in Shelby Township, Michigan, and then planned to head to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the same city where the Democratic candidates were to appear hours later before going to Michigan.
In Michigan, leaders say Democratic enthusiasm has surged since Vice President Harris announced her candidacy.
That could be pivotal in Detroit, which is nearly 80% Black, where leaders for months had warned administration officials that voter apathy could cost them in a city that’s typically a stronghold for their party.
Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit branch, said the excitement in the city now is “mind-blowing.” He likened it to Barack Obama’s first run for president in 2008, when voters waited in long lines to help elect the nation’s first Black president.
But some Democratic leaders in Michigan had grown concerned that choosing the wrong running mate could slow that momentum and fracture a coalition that has only recently started to unify.
Arab American leaders, who hold significant influence in Michigan due to a large presence in metro Detroit, had been vocal in their opposition to Shapiro due to his past comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Those leaders specifically pointed to a comment he made earlier this year regarding protests on university campuses, which they felt unfairly compared the actions of student protesters to those of White Supremacists. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while remaining a staunch supporter of Israel.
“It’s certainly not antisemitic to critique somebody’s position on Israeli policy,” Hammoud said. “That’s just called stewardship and accountability.”
In addition to expressing those concerns publicly, leaders had also made their feelings known privately to the White House and Harris’ team.
Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News and a prominent leader in Michigan’s large Muslim community, was among those who met with White House adviser Tom Perez in Michigan last week.
Although Perez was in the state on official business, he has maintained contact with some Dearborn leaders since he and other top officials traveled there with President Biden in an effort to mend ties with the community.
Siblani said he met with Perez for over an hour on July 29 and told him that if Vice President Harris chose Shapiro, it would “shut down” future conversations. He also conveyed this message to Democratic lawmakers in Congress, including Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell.
Pushback from Arab Americans and union leaders was “not the only reason why she did not pick Shapiro, but it is one of the major reasons,” said Siblani.
“Not picking Shapiro is a very good step. It cracks the door open a little more for us,” said Siblani, who along with Hammoud emphasized that any meaningful conversations must include policy discussions.
Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish, was excited by the prospect of having Shapiro as a vice presidential candidate but was “disturbed” by the criticism he received, believing that many of the vetted candidates had similar views on Israel.
He said he did not believe the criticism played a role in Vice President Harris’ decision and that “she’s choosing somebody based on this long game of who she can work with for four to eight years.”
Still, Moss said he is glad the Harris-Walz ticket is not divisive and that the feeling of unity among Democrats is “palpable on the ground.”
The nation’s largest auto workers’ union, the United Auto Workers, also watched the vice presidential choice carefully.
They moved to endorse Vice President Harris quickly after she stepped in to replace President Biden, and UAW President Shawn Fain said publicly that she had a right to choose her own running mate.
But he also said the union, which has 370,000 members and a huge presence in Michigan and other Midwestern states, did not favor Shapiro, who had previously joined with Pennsylvania Republicans in calling for an expansion of voucher programs that allow public tax dollars to flow to private schools.
Fain had singled out Walz, in addition to other candidates, with praise by saying the Minnesota governor was a “brilliant guy, sharp guy.” In a statement on August 6, Fain said Walz would make a “great vice president” and that he has “stood with the working class every step of the way.”
Dingell, a Democrat with deep connections in Dearborn who has brokered some of the conversations between Biden administration officials and leaders of core constituencies in Michigan, echoed those sentiments on August 6. She said the choice of Walz would only ramp up excitement at the rally in Detroit.
“We got somebody from the Midwest, from the heartland, that really understands our issues,” said Dingell. “And he will be a partner to her. She won’t have to look over her shoulder every two minutes. He will be a total, true partner.”
