Campaign Scrambles for Damage Control After Tim Walz Calls for Radical Changes to Election Rules

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is working to distance itself from comments made by running mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota regarding the Electoral College. Speaking at a California fundraiser with Gov. Gavin Newsom, Walz said, “I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go… We need a national popular vote that is something. But that’s not the world we live in,” as reported by Politico.

Walz then noted that, under the current Electoral College system, he and Harris are focusing on swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Nevada to secure the presidency.

The Electoral College, established by the Founders, ensures that smaller states have influence in the presidential election. Each state’s Electoral College votes are based on its representation in Congress: the number of House representatives (determined by population) plus two votes for its senators. This system has occasionally led to discrepancies between the popular vote and the Electoral College outcome, as seen in 2000 and 2016.

In response to Walz’s comments, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt raised concerns on X (formerly Twitter), asking whether Walz was laying “the groundwork to claim President Trump’s victory is illegitimate.”

Is Tampon Tim laying the groundwork to claim President Trump’s victory is illegitimate? https://t.co/E8konqFN82

— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) October 8, 2024

Walz has also been a supporter of the National Popular Vote initiative, signing a bill in Minnesota in 2023 that would allocate the state’s Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. This initiative has been passed in 16 other states, but its implementation could face legal challenges if enough states sign on to reach the 270 votes required for a presidential win.

Shortly after Walz’s remarks, the Harris campaign released a statement clarifying, “Gov. Walz believes that every vote matters in the Electoral College, and he is honored to be traveling the country and battleground states working to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket.”

Harris herself has shown openness to the idea of eliminating the Electoral College, stating during a 2019 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she was “open to the discussion” after then-presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocated for it.

At a recent fundraiser hosted by Alex Soros, son of George Soros, Walz remarked, “That’s the electoral college system, the way it’s set up, and the states that we’re vying for are incredibly close,” acknowledging the system’s role in the current campaign strategy.