Disappointment over Walz Team Harris fights for votes in the swing state of Arizona

In Senator Mark Kelly's home state, some voters are unhappy with the decision not to make him the vice-presidential candidate. Kamala Harris wants to canvass for votes.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is continuing her campaign tour with a stop in the US state of Arizona. In the swing state, which is hotly contested between Republicans and Democrats, Harris wanted to canvass for votes on Friday (today) together with her candidate for Vice President, Tim Walz. However, Harris may have caused dissatisfaction there because she preferred Walz to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who was also hoping to run for vice-president.

Among those disappointed in Arizona was Gonzalo Leyva, a 49-year-old landscaper in Phoenix. Leyva wants to vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but would have supported a joint candidacy by Harris and Kelly, he says. "I prefer Kelly about 100 times over," he said. "I don't think he's as extreme as the others."

Yet every vote matters in Arizona. The state regularly experiences close election results, such as in 2020, when President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump by less than 11,000 votes. Both parties are bracing themselves for a similar photo finish this year.

Democrats are confident that Harris is well positioned in the state even without Kelly at her side. The senator and ex-astronaut is expected to continue to support her. He is also already being mentioned for possible cabinet posts or other prominent positions should the Vice President win the election in November and move into the White House.

Enthusiasm for the new team

"Not picking Kelly hasn't slowed support for Harris," said Stacy Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Phoenix. She sensed the same enthusiasm for the new team that greeted huge crowds at previous stops on the campaign trail. This was also the case in Pennsylvania, whose governor Josh Shapiro was also not selected as the candidate for vice president.

In 2018, the Democrats won a Senate election in Arizona, followed by Kelly's election victory and finally Biden's in the 2020 presidential election. Two years later, Kelly won again and the Democrats prevailed in the gubernatorial election, winning the office of Attorney General and the so-called Secretary of State, who is responsible for organizing elections. The Democratic candidates prevailed against Republicans who aligned themselves with Trump and his style, repeating his lies about alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election.