Kansas Gov. Kelly says Walz is a 'huge asset' because he 'understands rural America'

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is a “huge asset” to Vice President Harris’s campaign because he “understands rural America.”

On whether Walz’s ability to speak to rural America is overstated, Kelly said, “No, not at all,” in an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

“Tim Walz is the epitome of the Midwestern dad. You could put him at any state fair, on any Main Street and certainly in any Friday-night football game in rural Kansas, and he would fit right in,” Kelly said.

Kelly, a Democrat who leads a red state, pointed to Walz’s time in Congress representing a more conservative part of his state.

“I think we also need to remember that, while Minnesota is a blue state, he represented in Congress, for 12 years, a very red section of Minnesota. So he understands rural Minnesota. He understands rural America, and I think that's one of the reasons that he is a huge asset to the Harris-Walz team."

Republicans have sought to paint Walz as a radical liberal, as they have Harris.

"It's no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate — Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement following the announcement of Harris's VP pick.