Gov. Tim Walz Says The Electoral College 'Needs To Go' During California Fundraiser With High-Dollar Donors

During a fundraiser at Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D-CA) home in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) told the high-dollar donors in attendance that the Electoral College "needs to go" and that the national popular vote, won by Democrats in the last five out of six presidential elections, should decide who gets to occupy the White House.

"I think all of us know, the Electoral College needs to go. We need a national popular vote," the Minnesota governor explained to the California Democrats assembled at Gov. Newsom's home, as The New York Times reported. "So we need to win Beaver County, Pennsylvania. We need to be able to go into York, Pennsylvania, and win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada, and win." During a fundraiser in Seattle, Washington, Walz repeated the same sentiment earlier in the day, telling those in attendance that he's "a national popular vote guy, but that's not the world we live in."

This isn't the first time that Walz has voiced his support for switching to a popular vote system. In 2023, he signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact , which would force Minnesota to give its Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote if enough states agree to do so to reach 270 Electoral College votes. As of April 2024, the compact has been signed by 17 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 209 Electoral College votes.

In response to the remark, the Harris campaign was forced to walk back the comment, explaining that it is not an official policy position of the Harris-Walz ticket. "Governor Walz believes that every vote matters in the Electoral College and he is honored to be traveling the country and battleground states working to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket," the campaign said. "He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And, he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts."

While the Harris campaign attempted to walk back Walz's comments, the Trump campaign asked why the Democratic vice presidential candidate "hates" the Constitution. "Why does Tampon Tim hate the Constitution so much? He hates the First Amendment. He hates the Supreme Court. He hates the Electoral College. But he sure loves communist China!" Team Trump wrote.

The elimination of the Electoral College would drastically shift the American political landscape. It would incentivize presidential candidates to campaign only in the most populous states, such as California, where Walz made the comment. The current system forces candidates to travel nationwide to convince voters in battleground states. While Democrats would like to reverse the current Electoral College system, doing so would take a Constitutional amendment.

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