In an interview on Thursday with “Good Morning America” anchor Michael Strahan, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz aligned himself with the position of the Harris-Walz campaign on the Electoral College, which articulated its stance after Walz earlier in the week supported eliminating the system.
“I have spoken about it in the past, that [Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has] been very clear on this, and the campaign. And my position is the campaign’s position,” Walz said.
At a fundraiser at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s private residence in Sacramento on Tuesday, Walz said that the Electoral College system “needs to go,” in favor of a “national popular vote.”
Watch: ABC News’ Michael Strahan’s TV interview with Gov. Tim Walz airs on “Good Morning America” on Friday, Oct. 11.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz talks to ABC News’ Michael Strahan for an interview that will air on “Good Morning America” on Friday, Oct. 11.
David Sherman/ABC
“But that’s not the world we live in. So we need to win Beaver County, Pennsylvania. We need to be able to go into York, Pennsylvania, win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada and win,” Walz said then.
But after ABC News inquired whether Harris shared Walz’s position, a Harris campaign official replied, “Getting rid of the Electoral College is not a campaign position.”
In discussing the discrepancy with Strahan, Walz cited the fact that while he’s campaigned in many states over the past few months, “there’s folks that feel every vote must count in every state,” not just battlegrounds.
“The point I’m trying to make is, is that there’s folks that feel every vote must count in every state. And I think some folks feel that’s not the case. Our campaign does that. And the point I’m saying is I’m in five states in two days,” Walz told Strahan on Thursday.
“We’re out there making the case that — the campaign’s position is clear that that’s not their position,” he said. “Their position and my position is, is to make sure that everybody understands their vote, no matter what state they’re in, matters.”
The Electoral College system determines who wins the presidency based on which candidate wins the majority of 538 electoral votes distributed among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. — not the popular vote.
While electoral counts are allocated based on a state’s population, there have been instances of candidates winning the election while not winning the popular vote. Hillary Clinton in 2016, for example, won the popular vote but not the electoral vote.
Though the Harris campaign is saying it’s not their position, Harris herself, when she was running for president in 2019, said she was “open” to discussing doing away with the Electoral College.
“I think that it’s — I’m open to the discussion,” Harris told Jimmy Kimmel in March 2019. “I mean there’s no question that the popular vote has been diminished in terms of making the final decision about who’s the president of the United States and we need to deal with that. So, I’m open to the discussion.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has recently announced his support for eliminating the Electoral College, a move that aligns his position with the campaign’s stance on the issue. The Electoral College has long been a topic of debate in American politics, with critics arguing that it is an outdated and undemocratic system that can lead to the election of a president who did not win the popular vote.
Governor Walz’s decision to support the elimination of the Electoral College comes at a time when the issue has gained renewed attention, particularly in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, where Donald Trump won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.
In a statement announcing his support for eliminating the Electoral College, Governor Walz cited the need for a more fair and representative electoral system. He argued that every vote should count equally and that the current system can disenfranchise voters in states that are not considered battleground states.
Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it helps to protect the interests of smaller states and ensures that candidates have to campaign across a diverse range of states. However, critics point out that the system can lead to situations where a candidate can win the presidency without winning the popular vote, which they argue undermines the principles of democracy.
Governor Walz’s decision to support eliminating the Electoral College is likely to spark further debate on the issue, both in Minnesota and across the country. It remains to be seen whether other politicians will follow his lead and come out in support of reforming the electoral system.
Overall, Governor Walz’s support for eliminating the Electoral College is a significant development in the ongoing debate over how to ensure that every vote counts in American elections. It will be interesting to see how this issue continues to evolve in the coming months and years.
