It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that the summer of 2024 brought a massive change to the expected election lineup as the duo set to be on the Democratic Party presidential ticket since November 2020 – Biden-Harris – suddenly fell out of the race.
The change allowed many blue voters – primarily wary of Biden’s age – to breathe a sigh of relief and apparently sent the Republican strategy into turmoil.
The change also raised another major question—a question that would finally find its answer on the morning of August 6—of who would be Kamala Harris’ vice presidential candidate.
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In recent weeks, Minnesota Governor Timothy Walz has been slowly rising above his competitors for Vice President Harris’s VP candidate spot and was finally confirmed as her choice on Tuesday, August 6.
VP candidate Tim Walz’s uncharacteristically empty portfolio
Given the influence wealth can have on the U.S. elections and given the ever-deteriorating reputation of many elected officials over their frequently suspicious trades, Democratic voters may find solace in knowing that Tim Walz did not disclose any stock trades since taking office.
Indeed, the former National Guard artillery NCO has, according to public records and Finbold’s estimates, the new VP candidate has only a modest net worth and a modest portfolio consisting almost entirely of a residence, a Minnesota pension fund, and insurance.
Records show Walz’s last trade took place in 2017.
Could a Walz Vice Presidency help end congressional trading?
Kamala Harris’ running mate has also been critical of congressional trading. Should the blue duo win, the controversial practice, which has seen numerous politicians substantially beat the market and make their annual salaries many times over by making suspiciously timed trades, might even come to face enough pressure to end.
On the other hand, there are no guarantees that a Walz vice presidency would truly push against such trading as politicians have been known to alter their positions based on politician convenience, and some – like Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene – have done substantial stock market trading after criticizing the practice themselves.
