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during a fundraiser at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s private residence in Sacramento, Calif., Kamala Harris‘ running mate called for abolishing the Electoral College.
“I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,” Walz said, according to pool reporters who were there. “We need a national popular vote…. But that’s not the world we live in.”
Politico has more.
Walz said he had been talking about the idea with Newsom earlier. But he appeared to put it aside as he went on to say that the campaign needs to focus on winning swing counties from Pennsylvania to western Wisconsin and Nevada.
Walz, according to pool reports, made similar comments at an earlier fundraiser in Seattle. His comments are a painful reminder for Democrats of 2016, when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes but fell short of the 270 votes she needed in the Electoral College and lost to Donald Trump.
As governor, Walz signed legislation in May 2023 that effectively sought to replace the Electoral College with a plan to elevate a national popular vote. While the number of states who’ve backed such proposals is growing, the major change would require congressional approval, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
