The Democratic ticket is working overtime to bury Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s sharp view of the Electoral College.
On Tuesday, the number two on the Democratic presidential ticket told a group of donors in Sacramento, California, that he no longer supported the continued existence of the Electoral College.
“I think we all know that the Electoral College needs to go. We need a national popular vote,” Walz said to applause. “But that’s not the world we live in.”
“So we have to win Beaver County, Pennsylvania,” Walz continued. “We have to be able to go to York, Pennsylvania and win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We have to be in Reno, Nevada and win. And the help you provide here today helps make that possible.”
But on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign was already moving to distance her from Walz’s perspective, tellingly USA today that ridding the nation of the Electoral College is not an official position.
The controversial institution has been a topic of debate in the United States since its creation at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Critics have argued that the system – which almost uniquely determines the outcome of presidential elections regardless of the popular vote – is completely undemocratic, while offering outsized national influence to smaller, less populous, traditionally conservative regions of the country.
There have been at least two episodes in recent decades in which Democratic candidates won the national popular vote but failed to win the White House thanks to the Electoral College: Al Gore in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“Governor Walz believes every vote matters in the Electoral College and he is honored to travel the country and battleground states to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement. USA today. “He commented to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign was built to win 270 electoral votes. And he thanked them for their support that helps fund these efforts.
