Americans largely split on Walz as Harris's running mate: Survey

Americans are nearly evenly split between enthusiasm and uncertainty over Vice President Harris's selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey, released Tuesday night, found 35 percent of Americans believe Walz is either a "good" pick or the "best possible" pick for Harris's presidential ticket, while 35 percent were not sure. Just 16 percent called the Minnesota governor a "bad pick" or the "worst possible" pick.

The enthusiasm was higher among Democrats, 61 percent of which said he was a good choice or the best pick, while only 2 percent said the opposite. Just over a quarter (29 percent) of independents said Walz was a good choice or the best pick, while 15 percent said he was a bad choice or the worst pick, per the survey.

Republicans felt more negative about the choice, pollsters found, with 12 percent calling Walz the good or best choice and 34 percent stating the opposite. About 40 percent of Republicans, however, were unsure.

Nearly half of Americans (45 percent) in the poll said they do not know enough about Walz to determine if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about him. Roughly 35 percent of respondents said they have at least a "somewhat" favorable view of the governor, while one in five said they had the opposite.

Walz emerged as a dark horse contender for Harris's running mate in recent days after he gained national attention for labeling former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), as “weird.”

The poll was taken within hours of Harris's announcement that she tapped Walz as her vice-presidential candidate in preparation for a faceoff against Trump in November.

Harris lauded Walz’s support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.

The North Star State leader appeared largely popular among Democrats in YouGov's poll. Overall, 58 percent of Democrats are more likely to have a favorable opinion of the Minnesota governor than an unfavorable opinion. Pollsters noted these rates are similar among different ages, gender or regions of Democratic voters.

Harris and Walz were officially certified as the Democratic nominees for president and vice president, respectively, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) confirmed Tuesday night.

It followed a nearly weeklong virtual voting period in which Harris received 99 percent of the votes of all delegates who participated. The vice president was the only candidate whose name was in contention following President Biden’s withdrawal from the race last month.

Since launching her presidential bid, Harris has seen an uptick in the polls, narrowing the gap with Trump, and even slightly leading in some cases.

YouGov's Daily Questions survey was conducted online Tuesday among 3,003 U.S. adults. The margin of error is about 2.5 percentage points.