Harris-Walz ticket sharpens contrast with Trump-Vance on health care

Stillwater, Minnesota — Vice President Kamala Harris' selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate is making health care a front-burner issue in the final sprint to the November presidential election.

Walz, a 60-year-old former high school teacher and football coach, has a record of supporting left-leaning health care initiatives during his two terms as governor and while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019. He also leads a state central to the health care industry: Minnesota is home both to the nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group, and one of its most prestigious hospital systems, the Mayo Clinic.

Republicans have seized on his record to portray the Harris-Walz ticket as extreme on health care, while Democrats say Walz's efforts to lower drug costs and preserve abortion access are mainstream positions that appeal to swing voters. Either way, his selection thrusts health care center stage as an election issue, underscoring the primacy of the nation's battle over abortion access as well as voters' deep angst over spiraling health care costs.