Former Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, now a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, publicly congratulated Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota on being picked for the Democratic vice presidential nomination.
“I want to extend my congratulations to Governor Walz on being selected as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. We had the chance to work together as fellow governors, and while we come from different parties, I have always appreciated his dedication to public service,” Mr. Hogan said in a statement Tuesday.
“I believe we need more governors at the national level because governors have to actually get stuff done,” he said. “I wish Tim and his family well in the campaign ahead.”
Mr. Walz had been selected by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris earlier Tuesday for the No. 2 slot on her ticket.
In a statement, the current vice president celebrated him as a champion of rural, lower- and middle-class voters, who will bring “principled leadership” to the campaign.
“One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal. As a governor, a coach, a teacher and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his own,” she said.
“We are going to build a great partnership. We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election,” she said.
The duo are set to make their first appearance together at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday before heading off on a joint campaign blitz to key battleground states
It’s not common for a Republican to congratulate a Democrat (or vice versa) for being nominated in a contested election, and Mr. Hogan’s statement is sure to be a thorn in the side of the Trump campaign.
Mr. Hogan has been a rare Republican critic of Mr. Trump, even as he runs for the Senate seat. Mr. Hogan has refused to endorse Mr. Trump for president, which he also did not do in 2016 and 2020.
Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Hogan in the Senate race last month in a Fox News interview. But Mr. Hogan has said he has “no interest” in the former president’s support and Mr. Trump has not pursued the matter since, which could mean he senses that Mr. Hogan has a better chance in deep-blue Maryland without his involvement.
“I’ve been out there trying to convince people on both sides of the aisle that I’m the right person to send to Washington, that I have the courage to stand up to the current president, to the former president, to the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party,” Mr. Hogan said on CNN earlier this month.
Mr. Trump’s campaign slammed Mr. Walz as “a dangerously liberal extremist,” saying he moves the Democratic presidential ticket further to the left.
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running mate — Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota into the image of the Golden State,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.
“Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide,” she added.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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