The buildup for finding out who U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, would choose as her running mate in the 2024 election, is finally over; yesterday morning, the Harris campaign officially announced that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be her running mate. Later in the day, in their first appearance together, the two took the stage to address crowds at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
According to Arick Wierson, a renown U.S journalist who has written extensively about Guyana (including conducting a wide-ranging interview for Newsweek Magazine with Guyana’s President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali earlier this year), the Walz pick is very good sign for Guyana’s regional strategic and geopolitical interests. “With Harris picking Tim Walz as her running mate, she bucked conventional wisdom and went with a true governing partner – someone who complements her politically, in governing style, and in terms of areas of experience and expertise,” said Wierson in an interview with OilNOW.
“Moreover, Walz is very good for Guyana – excellent in fact,” added Wierson. “I have talked to the Governor on numerous occasions both on and off the record about the regional tensions with Venezuela, and he is a leader who really understands that the U.S. has an important role to play in promoting regional stability. He values the importance of alliances, and really sees Guyana not only as a partner in terms of promoting global energy security, but as an ally in defending democratic norms and the rule of law across the region.”
Back on July 18, before President Joe Biden ended his bid for a second term as President, Wierson was one of the first – likely the very first – among major political news analysts in the U.S. to predict that not only would Biden bow out of the race for re-election following a difficult debate performance against former President Donald J. Trump, but that Kamala Harris would rise to the top of the Democratic ticket and choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. He recently doubled down on his prediction that Walz would end up as the Democrat’s V.P. selection even last week as rumors swirled that Harris would pick Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in an opinion column for Newsweek Magazine entitled, “Tim Walz Is the Perfect Choice.”
Wierson, a six-time Emmy Award-winning television producer and former political marketer for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg lauded Walz’s political skills, writing in Newsweek Magazine: “In many ways, Walz is the consummate interlocutor for the Harris campaign to connect with Middle America. He is the perfect yang to Harris’ yin.”
The U.S. election will be held on November 5, 2024.
