Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared to double down Thursday on his support for getting rid of the Electoral College — despite getting smacked down by the Harris campaign the first time he called for the radical constitutional change.
“Well, it’s not the campaign’s position, and the point that I’m trying to make is that there’s folks that feel like every vote must count in every state,” the Democratic vice presidential nominee told ABC News “Good Morning America” co-host Michael Strahan in an interview.
“And I think some of the folks feel that that’s not the case.”
During a campaign fundraiser Tuesday night, the 60-year-old had told attendees: “I think all of us know that the Electoral College needs to go” in favor of settling presidential elections by the national popular vote.
The Harris-Walz campaign quickly issued a statement later that night clarifying that Walz’s comment did not reflect its position.
“The campaign’s position is clear — that that’s not their position,” Walz told Strahan. “Their position and my position is to make sure that everybody understands that their vote — no matter what state they’re in, matters.
“I have spoken about it in the past and she’s been very clear on this and the campaign and my position is the campaign’s position.”
No Republican candidate has won a popular-vote majority since George W. Bush in 2004.
Democrats Al Gore and Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2000 and 2016, but lost the all-important Electoral College.
“Governor Walz believes that every vote matters in the Electoral College and he is honored to be traveling the country and battleground states working to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket,” a Walz spokesperson told the New York Times.
“He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And, he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts.”
