Walz retracts statement favoring abolition of Electoral College: "My stance aligns with the campaign's stance"
Walz declarated during a fundraiser on Tuesday that he thinks the Electoral College ought to be dismissed, which the Harris campaign afterwards stated wasn't an official campaign standpoint. In an interview with ABC News, Walz asserted, "My position is the campaign's position" regarding this matter. He stated he was aiming to guarantee that everyone comprehends "their vote...counts."
"It’s not the campaign’s position. I’m trying to convey that there are individuals who feel each vote must be counted in every state. Some individuals believe it's not the case," Walz explained in a clip from the interview made public on Thursday night.
"The point I’m making is: I’m in five states in two days, we’re arguing that—the campaign’s position is clear, that it’s not their position. Their position and my position is—to guarantee that everyone comprehends their vote, no matter what state they’re in, matters," he further clarified.
Walz's comment marks the most recent instance of Democratic vice presidential nominee Harris attempting to clarify a previous statement or remark made during the campaign trail or throughout her long political career before joining the Harris campaign. Walz has faced criticism for previously misrepresenting his military rank, falsely claiming to have carried assault weapons "in war," wrongly implying his family employed in vitro fertilization, and erroneously stating he was in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
When asked if he and Harris have differing views on whether the Electoral College should be eliminated, Walz reiterated that his views on the issue align with the campaign's perspective.
"I've discussed this in the past, and Harris has been quite clear on this issue. And...my position is the campaign's position," he said.
The clarification from Walz ensued following his remarks to supporters at a closed-door fundraiser at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s private residence in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday. Walz expressed his belief that the national popular vote should determine the winner of presidential elections instead of the Electoral College.
"We know the Electoral College needs to go. We need—we need national popular vote, but that’s not the world we live in. So we need to gain Beaver County, Pennsylvania. We need to be able to enter York, Pennsylvania, and win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada, and win," he said, according to a pool report.
A Harris campaign official told CNN on Tuesday eliminating the Electoral College is not an official campaign position. In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, a campaign spokesperson maintained that Walz was "commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes."
Despite the Harris campaign distancing itself from calls to eliminate the Electoral College, Harris has previously expressed openness to the idea. In a 2019 interview, Harris, who was running for president at the time, expressed being "open to the discussion" around abolishing the Electoral College.
The ABC News interview will be revealed in its entirety on Friday morning.
Walz's statement about the Electoral College being an important issue, irrespective of state, aligns with his politics as he advocates for every vote counting equally. Despite the Harris campaign not officially endorsing the abolition of the Electoral College, Walz has publicly expressed his belief that the national popular vote should decide presidential elections.
