Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz take the stage at packed Philadelphia rally

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have made their debut as the presumptive Democratic presidential ticket, kicking off a campaign against Donald Trump and JD Vance in front of a roaring crowd in Philadelphia.

The governor stepped on stage in front of an electric crowd on Tuesday just hours after Harris announced him as her running mate, ending the closely watched contest for the next potential vice president by choosing the seasoned midwestern politician, military veteran and former school teacher with a progressive track record.

Harris told a crowd of roughly 12,000 people that she “set out to find a partner who can build this brighter future” that she has envisioned in her campaign.

“A leader who can unite this nation and move us forward, a fighter for the middle class, a patriot who believes as I do the extraordinary promise of America, a promise of freedom, opportunity and justice not just for some but for all,” she said.

“I’ve found such a leader: Governor Tim Walz of the great state of Minnesota.”

Walz, 60, enlisted in the US Army National Guard at 17 years old and served for 24 years, then spent more than two decades teaching high school and coaching football before entering politics.

In her introduction in Philadelphia, Harris noted that Walz served as a faculty adviser for a high school gay-straight alliance group, and “Tim knew the signal it would send to have a football coach get involved.”

Walz “makes people feel they belong and inspires them to dream big, and that’s the kind of vice president he will be,” she added, “and that’s the kind of vice president America deserves.”

He represented the state in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 and is now in the middle of his