'Doomed': Experts say this crucial campaign decision led to VP Harris' 'disastrous' defeat

Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid has political strategists second guessing many of her campaign choices, including her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

"The choice of Walz was only one of many disastrous mistakes but symptomatic of one larger problem – the Democratic Party leadership is too scared to say no to the hard left progressive wing of the party," Julian Epstein, longtime Democratic operative and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital.

"This hard left opposes commonsense solutions that Gov Shapiro supports – charter schools for example. Or defeating terrorists rather than aping their talking points and positions, which allow them to stay in power and rearm for the next genocidal attack," Epstein continued. "It’s the hard left progressive wing that looks first to welfare and redistribution rather than economic growth, and to cultural extremism on migration and gender deeply out of touch with the American electorate. Walz was a really bad choice for sure, but their choice was part of a deeper problem."

Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital that Walz being added to the ticket was a significant error in judgment.

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VP Harris and Gov. Tim Walz at the Democratic convention. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"Historically, vice presidents have little impact on a presidential candidate’s fate," Bluey said. "But in the case of Tim Walz, it proved to be a disastrous decision that doomed Kamala Harris from the moment she made it. Not only was Walz ill-prepared for the national spotlight and media scrutiny, but Harris passed over several better options. Given how little Americans knew about Harris or her policy positions, they were right to question her judgment on this big decision."

Harris faced scrutiny even from some in her own party over her decision to name Walz, who many view as further to the left than she is, rather than a more moderate choice. Prominent Democrat Josh Shapiro, governor of the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania that Trump carried on Tuesday night, was viewed by some as a more practical choice.

"One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate," Harris-Walz surrogate Lindy Li told Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich at Howard University. "A lot of people are saying tonight that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months."

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Supporters react to early election results at Vice President Kamala Harris' election night rally at Howard University, in Washington, D.C., Nov. 5, 2024. (Reuters/Daniel Cole)

"I know a lot of people are probably wondering tonight what would have happened had Shapiro been on the ticket," Li continued. "And not only in terms of Pennsylvania. He's famously a moderate. So that would have signaled to the American people that she is not the San Francisco liberal that Trump said she was."

Walz was heavily criticized on the campaign trail over questions about his honesty regarding his military service, ties to China, response to the George Floyd riots in 2020, and policy agenda as governor that several Minnesotans who spoke to Fox News Digital described as radical.

Firehouse Strategies founding partner Alex Conant told Fox News Digital that while Walz did not help the ticket, the problems were much deeper.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally at Tucson High Magnet School on Nov. 2, 2024 in Tucson, Arizona. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

"Democrats must have a lot of regrets," Conant said. "Walz didn't help the ticket, but he's not why she lost. VP candidates just don't matter that much."

"Bigger issues were Trump's well-run campaign, Biden's unpopular record, and Harris' lackluster performance as a candidate – and I'm not sure how she could have changed any of those things."

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..