Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made headlines Thursday by reaffirming his support for abolishing the Electoral College, despite facing backlash from the Harris campaign after his initial remarks advocating for the drastic constitutional change.
“Well, it’s not the campaign’s position, and the point that I’m trying to make is that there’s folks that feel like every vote must count in every state,” the Democratic vice-presidential nominee said in an interview with Michael Strahan on ABC News’ “Good Morning America.”
“And I think some of the folks feel that that’s not the case.”
At a fundraising event on Tuesday evening, the 60-year-old Walz had asserted: “I think all of us know that the Electoral College needs to go” in favor of determining presidential elections through the national popular vote.
The Harris-Walz campaign quickly issued a clarification later that night, stating that Walz’s comment did not reflect the official stance of the campaign.
“The campaign’s position is clear — that that’s not their position,” Walz explained to Strahan. “Their position and my position is to make sure that everybody understands that their vote — no matter what state they’re in, matters.”
“I have spoken about it in the past and she’s been very clear on this and the campaign and my position is the campaign’s position.”
Since George W. Bush’s victory in 2004, no Republican candidate has won the popular vote. Democrats Al Gore and Hillary Clinton both won the popular vote in 2000 and 2016 but were defeated in the Electoral College.
A spokesperson for Governor Walz provided clarification in a statement to The New York Times: “Governor 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.”
“He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And, he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts.”
{Matzav.com}