During an interview with CBS News on Monday, Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond responded to a question on how much the campaign discussed 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (D) 1995 DUI arrest and his House campaign’s misleading descriptions of the arrests was discussed during the running mate selection process by stating that “we knew about it. But what we were focused on is, how are we going to deliver for the American people…that’s what we drilled down on.”
Host and CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes asked, “You were part of the vetting team that looked at all of Vice President Harris’ top choices for running mate, and she ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. How much of a discussion was it, in your meetings, Gov. Walz’s 1995 DUI arrest and the way that his House campaign described it in a misleading way when he was first running for office in 2005?”
Richmond answered, “Well, we knew about it. But what we were focused on is, how are we going to deliver for the American people and who is the best running mate to help make sure that this economy works for everybody, not just the wealthy and how do we get — like the vice president says all the time, how do we help families, not just get by, but get ahead? And that was our overarching concern, that’s what we drilled down on. Of course, he talked about the incident, he talked about he’s never had a drink since, and he’s talked about how he learned from it and how he focuses every day on helping people.”
He continued, “And that is the common thread that runs through this campaign is that this is not about us. We’re going to be okay. But this is about those families out there every day, this is about our seniors paying a lot for health care, this is about making sure that people have opportunity, and, more important, what Tim Walz brought was the desire to unify this country, whether you’re Democrat, Republican, black or white, rural or urban, we’re all in this together and we can all rise together. And that joy that he does it with, combined with her joy, you see the chemistry immediately, and then the contrast. He was a teacher, he was a coach, he was in the armed services, he served in Congress, and he’s going to be a great asset when it’s time to go to the Hill and pass legislation. So, it really was a match made in heaven.”
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