WASHINGTON (AP) — The stage is set for an election that was unimaginable mere weeks ago when President Joe Biden was atop the Democratic ticket. Now Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate to take on Republican Donald Trump and his No. 2, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
As different as they are, Walz and Vance both qualify as picks meant to reassure their party’s loyal base voters rather than adding homegrown heft in a critical battleground state.
The two No. 2s will also get a chance to square off in almost real time as Walz is traveling this week with Harris to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, while Vance will follow an overlapping itinerary to offer his own counterprograming in some places.
Some takeaways on the race now that Harris has settled on Walz:
Opting for the Minnesota governor immediately calms the Democratic Party’s left wing, which was worried that another contender, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, might have pushed the party closer to Israel and disheartened Arab American and younger voters. Some in Harris' inner circle saw Walz as a do-no-harm choice who can keep the party unified heading into the Democratic National Convention opening in Chicago on Aug. 19.
Progressives are already celebrating Walz’s ability to deliver an unapologetically populist message in the style of a Midwestern dad who recalls the social studies teacher and football coach he once was.
Activists who for months have followed Biden around the country to protest his full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza are hopeful that Walz will help Harris take a more nuanced approach than someone like Shapiro.
But some critics will point to 2016, when the only other woman to be nominated for president, Hillary Clinton, picked a mild-mannered dad with centrist views and a modest national profile: Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. That ticket lost to Trump.
Neither vice presidential pick seems to do much to build out his party’s coalition — a sign that both campaigns view this election as about boosting turnout from their existing bases.
Just as Walz hails from the solidly Democratic state of Minnesota, Vance comes from the safely Republican state of Ohio. There is a bet that each choice can radiate Midwestern appeal to the key “blue wall" states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin simply by dint of geographical proximity.
Harris allies have stressed Walz’s ability to appeal to rural voters, although his 2022 reelection as governor roughly matched the margins of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential win in Minnesota. Trump won 6 in 10 rural and small town voters nationwide in 2020, according to AP VoteCast.
The Trump campaign was quick to try to connect Walz to its characterizations of Harris as a California liberal, saying his support for gun control and teachers unions make him a “West Coast wannabe.”
Vance, for his part, comes from a state that has twice backed Trump by 8 percentage points. Just like the former president with his book “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” Vance achieved national recognition with his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Vance has mainly played to cultural and policy issues favored by strict adherents of Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement such as cutting military support for Ukraine.
Vance is set to follow an overlapping itinerary to Harris and Walz over the next two days, including stops in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. His role is to attack the Biden administration's policies and tear down Harris’ record on the economy, public safety and immigration.
Vance got out ahead of the Democrats in Philadelphia on Tuesday, holding an event hours before Harris was to formally introduce her new running mate at a rally. He said during his Philadelphia stop that “I absolutely want to debate Tim Walz," but not until after the Democratic convention.
Harris' team seemed to be happy to have Vance making the contrast with the Democrats.
“We appreciate JD Vance providing voters in battleground states exactly the split-screen that defines the choice this November,” said Harris campaign spokesman Charles Lutvak.
Walz’s selection settled one big question mark among Democrats, but plenty of major challenges remain for the final months of a race already defined by its unexpected twists and turns.
There is the prospect of a wider war in the Middle East, the possibility of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve that might calm global financial markets and questions about whether Trump and Harris will actually square off in a September debate that was set before Biden bowed out of the race.
No matter what happens, the conventional narratives of a presidential campaign have already had seemingly brief shelf lives. Voters over the past few weeks have dealt with Biden's disastrous performance in the June 27 debate against Trump, a brazen assassination attempt on Trump, Biden's exit from the race and Harris' quick ascendance among Democrats.
Now that both tickets are settled, a reckoning will take place over positions, and small differences can matter to voters who on the margin could decide a narrow election. Global events can upend talking points in ways that are hard to predict. The 2008 campaign intensified with that year’s financial crisis, while the persistence of the coronavirus shaped 2020.
If there are any lessons from this year, it’s that election year surprises are no longer reserved for October.
Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, concludes his remarks before taking questions with reporters at a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks before President Joe Biden at Dutch Creek Farms, Nov. 1, 2023, in Northfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — For many Haitian immigrants, Sunday mornings in Springfield, Ohio, are spent joyfully worshipping God as they sing and pray in their native Creole. This Sunday, they needed that uplifting balm more than ever.
Their community is reeling — confused, frustrated, hurt — from false accusations that they are eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs. The now viral and highly politicized rumors are being fueled by former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and others, and violent threats against the community are upending daily life in their city.
“Jesus is with us in truth, and the truth is that Haitians are not eating pets and geese in Springfield,” said the Rev. Carl Ruby, preaching at Central Christian Church. He invited community members to join his congregation in prayer and peaceful protest of the false rumors leveled against their Haitian neighbors.
They also demanded an apology.
“It is truth that a retraction of these rumors will help to restore peace in Springfield," Ruby said. “We respectfully call on all politicians and media figures who are promoting this rumor to help make Springfield great and safe again by speaking the truth about our community.”
Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, accepted Ruby's invitation to worship together at Central Christian, and was grateful to be relying on his faith.
“It’s important to be here because we’re Christian — despite everything, we worship in good times and bad times,” he said. “I’m relieved that I’m in the presence of God. It’s therapeutic.”
And he had a message for Trump and Vance: “If they have the heart of God, they will think differently and speak differently.”
The rumors, spread on social media and by Trump during Tuesday’s televised presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, have exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment ahead of the election in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000 where more than 15,000 Haitians now live and work.
Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have legally landed in Springfield in recent years under the U.S.'s Temporary Protected Status program, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said the federal government needs to do more to help cities like Springfield serve the influx of migrants. On ABC’s “This Week," DeWine called the Haitians good, hardworking people who are in the U.S. legally, and said the false rumors are a piece of internet garbage.
“There’s no evidence of this at all,” he said during the program.
Despite the governor and local officials debunking the rumors, Vance reiterated the conspiracy theory on Sunday's “Face the Nation” on CBS while blasting Harris on her U.S.-Mexico border policy.
At Central Christian Church, Ruby encouraged his congregation to help hand out thousands of cards around Springfield that had been printed in Creole and English with a message of support for Haitians. It reads" “I’m glad you are here. Christ loves you and so do I."
As the service ended, Ruby praised parishioners for a beautiful moment amid what he called a storm of chaos. Looking at the Haitian members in the first pew and at the rest of his congregation, he asked them to come together in prayer: “Pray and think what it is to be a Haitian parent sending their child this week to school."
One of those parents is Mia Perez, 35 an immigration lawyer whose 9-year-old daughter had to evacuate her school twice because of bomb threats to a nearby DMV this week.
“Kids in school are being asked by other kids: ’How does the dog taste? How does the cat taste?” Perez said, describing her daughter’s distress.
"She’s asking, 'Are we the kind of Haitians who eat this kind of stuff? Is it true? What’s happening?'”
“This is a conversation that I was not ready to have with my daughter," Perez said. "I felt disrespected of our culture.”
On Sunday, Perez attended a service at Saint Raphael’s Catholic church, while a Springfield police officer stood guard outside. Attendance by Haitians was lower than usual, and Perez — after talking with others who did attend — said many from their community stayed away out of fears for their safety,
“This is emotional," she said. "They made a statement of not being here. Catholic Haitian people have such strong faith — not even hurricanes can keep them away, but look at this here today.”
Another service was held at The First Haitian Church, located next to the Haitian Community Center.
“They feel the threat. They feel not welcome,” Bernardette Dor, 51, one of the pastors, said after the service. “Even in the school system sometimes, they feel different, not because of their skin color but because they’re Haitian. But the reality is that we’re beautiful and we’re blessed.”
Though she worries about repercussions of the false statements, she said gathering to worship with her community and feeling support from others in Springfield gives her hope.
“We are united. It is time for good to stand for good,” she said. “This time the city of Springfield, Haitian people, asked the Lord to stay together to fight for good ... America is a great loving country, and American people care for people – it doesn’t matter if they are Haitian. We’re against lies.”
After the service, some parishioners gathered at Rose Goute Creole restaurant for a traditional Haitian meal of rice and beans, fried plantains and pork. One of them, Jacob Payen, said the restaurant has been transformed in recent days.
“We’ve been outnumbered — we have more non-Haitian guests here at the restaurant who are curious to know the culture and Haitian cuisine,” he said. “We feel that they’re sending a strong message: if they’re here eating with us because they trust us.”
Among those attending the earlier service at Central Christian was Rose-Thamar Joseph, 40, who works at the Haitian Community Center.
“I was praying for peace and protection — for the Haitian community and all of Springfield," she said. “I just want Springfield to go back to what it was a couple of months ago."
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AP visual journalist Jessie Wardarski contributed.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Phara Pierre, right, and her daughter attend Mass at St Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Louisette Saintima, right, and other congregants sing during Mass at St Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Congregants worship at St Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
St Raphael Catholic church parishioners, Berthing Jean Philippe, left, Casey Kelly Rollins and Patrick Joseph embrace after a service in support of the Haitian in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A Springfield police officer talks to a parishioner after a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A parishioner walks back to his pew after taking Communion during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Parishioner Rose Carmelle Bellevue looks at his 1-year-old son during a service at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Bernardette Dor, center, holds hands with the daughter of her friend Mia Perez, right, during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Cards printed in both Creole and English display a message of support for Haitians that reads, "I'm glad you are here. Christ loves you and so do I," near the altar at Central Christ Church after a service Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A church sign is seen at House of Prayer near the First Haitian Church and community center in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Mia Perez, left, an immigration lawyer, and Bernardette Dor, a pastor at the First Haitian Church, pose for a photo together after joining a prayer walk in support of their Haitian immigrant community in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Marie Morette, a congregant of St Raphael Catholic church, prays during Mass in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Carl Ruby, pastor at Central Christian Church, hugs Viles Dorsainvil during service, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Members of the Haitian community, from left, Lindsay Aime, James Fleurijean, Rose-Thamar Joseph, Harold Herard, and Viles Dorsainvil, stand for worship with Carl Ruby, pastor at Central Christian Church, in Springfield, Ohio, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Carl Ruby, pastor at Central Christian Church, hugs Lindsay Aime during service, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Central Christian Church congregants stand to applaud members of the Haitian community during service, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Members of the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, from left, Lindsay Aime, James Fleurijean, Viles Dorsainvil, and Rose-Thamar Joseph, stand for worship at Central Christian Church, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
