LANSING, Michigan — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend their first full day as running mates Wednesday mobilizing Democrats in the Midwest, a politically divided region crucial to their attempt to capture the White House in less than three months.
The trip, which will start in Wisconsin before moving to Michigan, is aimed at cementing support among the younger, diverse, working-class voters who played a key role in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. But that coalition showed signs of crumbling over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a flashpoint for Democratic division on Biden’s handling of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Now that Biden is out of the race and Harris is officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab-American community and key labor unions say they are encouraged by the choice. The addition of Walz to the ticket has put minds at ease some tensionsmaking it clear to some community leaders that Harris had heard concerns about another leading vice presidential candidate, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who they said had gone too far in his support for Israel.
“The party recognizes that there is a coalition that they need to rebuild,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan. “Electing Waltz is another sign of goodwill.”
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat seeking a third term, appeared with Harris at a campaign rally in suburban Milwaukee last month and said in a fundraising email Tuesday morning that she was “thrilled to see a fellow Midwesterner at the top of the list.”
Donald Trump, in his choice for presidential election, placed a similar emphasis on appealing to voters in the Midwestern states. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential candidate. Vance will again headline the Harris-Walz ticket on Wednesday with appearances in the same states. He will begin his day in Michigan before heading to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the same city where the Democratic candidates will appear hours later before heading to Michigan.
In Michigan, leaders say enthusiasm among Democrats has increased since Harris announced her candidacy.
That could be crucial in Detroit, which is nearly 80% black, where leaders warned for months State officials say voter apathy could cost them dearly in a city that has traditionally been a stronghold for their party. The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, said the excitement in the city now is “astonishing.” He compared it to Barack Obama’s first presidential race in 2008, when voters lined up in long lines to help elect the nation’s first black president.
But some Democratic leaders in Michigan worried that choosing the wrong running mate could slow momentum and fracture a coalition that was only recently formed. started to unite.
Arab American leaders who have a excessive influence in Michigan, because of their large presence in metro Detroit, had spoken out loudly and clearly against Shapiro for his previous comments about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Arab American leaders specifically pointed to a comment he made earlier this year about protests on college campuses, which they said 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 is certainly not anti-Semitic to criticize someone’s position on Israeli policy,” Hammoud said. “That is simply called stewardship and accountability.”
In addition to publicly expressing their concerns, the leaders also privately made their feelings known to the White House and Harris’ team.
Osama Siblani, 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 been in touch with some Dearborn leaders since he and other top officials traveled together with Biden to rebuild ties with the community.
Siblani said he spoke with Perez for more than an hour on July 29 and told him that if Harris chose Shapiro, it would “stop” future talks. He also conveyed that message to Democratic lawmakers in Congress, including Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell.
The opposition from Arab Americans and labor leaders was “not the only reason she didn’t pick Shapiro, but it is one of the most important reasons,” Siblani said.
“Not electing Shapiro is a very good step. It opens the door a little bit wider for us,” said Siblani, who along with Hammoud stressed that any meaningful conversation must also include policy discussions.
Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish, was excited about the prospect of Shapiro as a vice presidential nominee but was “troubled” by the criticism he received, as he believed many of the candidates vetted had similar views on Israel. He said he did not believe the criticism played a role in Harris’ decision and that “she’s choosing someone based on this long-term perspective of who she can work with for four to eight years.”
Still, Moss said he’s glad the Harris-Walz ticket isn’t divisive and that the sense of unity among Democrats is “felt on the ground.”
The nation’s largest auto workers union, the United Auto Workers, also closely followed the vice presidential election.
She moved to endorse Harris soon after replacing Biden, and UAW President Shawn Fain said publicly that she had the 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 support Shapiro, who had previously joined Republicans in Pennsylvania to call for an expansion of voucher programs that allow government taxpayer money to flow to private schools.
Fain had singled out Walz — among other candidates — in an Aug. 2 interview with The Associated Press, saying the Minnesota governor was a “brilliant, sharp guy.” In a statement Tuesday, Fain said Walz would be a “great vice president” and that he “has supported working people every step of the way.”
Dingell, a Democrat with deep connections in Dearborn who has brokered a series of talks between Biden administration officials and leaders of core Michigan constituencies, echoed those sentiments Tuesday. She said picking Walz would only heighten the excitement at Wednesday’s rally in Detroit.
“We have someone from the Midwest, from the heartland, who really understands our issues,” Dingell said. “And he’ll be a partner to her. She won’t have to look over her shoulder every two minutes. He’ll be a total, real partner.”
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Associated Press journalists Tom Krisher in Detroit and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report.