Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has been forced to walk back his recent calls for the Electoral College to be abolished.
During a California fundraiser earlier this week, Walz declared that “the Electoral College needs to go.”
Walz was at the private Sacramento home of California’s Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday when he spoke about the process by which U.S. presidents are elected.
According to a pool report at the event, Bloomberg reported that Walz demanded a “national popular vote” instead.
“I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,” Walz said.
“We need a national popular vote, but that’s not the world we live in.”
After Walz made the remarks, the Harris campaign insisted that it was not the vice president’s stance on the matter.
Just two days later, in an interview with ABC host Michael Strahan, Walz was backpedaling out of his misstep from the campaign.
During the interview, Strahan told Walz he wanted to go back to something the Minnesota governor said on Tuesday.
“You said, ‘I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,’” Strahan said.
“But the campaign came out later that night, and they said that’s not their stance.”
Walz concurred with the ABC host that it was not the campaign’s position.
“The point I’m trying to make is that there’s folks that feel every vote must count in every state, and I think some of the folks feel that’s not the case,” Walz said.
“We’re out there making the case that the campaign’s position is clear, that that’s not their position.
“Their position and my position is to make sure that everybody understands their vote, no matter what state they’re in, matters.”
“So that’s something you and Vice President Harris disagree on,” Strahan asked.
“Um, I have spoken about it in the past, that she’s been very clear on this, and the campaign and my position is the campaign’s position,” Walz responded.
In 2023, Walz signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
The agreement would see each state allocate all its electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote for president, regardless of how individual states voted.
The compact would take effect only if supporters secure pledges from states with at least 270 electoral votes.
A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign sought to further downplay the remarks.
In a Tuesday statement, the campaign claimed that Walz believes every vote matters in the Electoral College.
“He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes,” the spokesperson said.
“And he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts.”
The Electoral College comprises a certain number of electors from each state who cast votes for the president and vice president.
In 48 states and Washington, D.C., whichever candidate receives the most ballots in their favor is awarded all the electoral votes for that state.
Maine and Nebraska assign their electors using a congressional district system.
The winner needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election.
The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers to ensure large states didn’t dominate small ones in presidential elections or wield too much power.
Abolishing the system would require a major constitutional change.
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