Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during a visit to the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minn., in April 2023. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

Gov. Janet Mills and other Maine Democrats praised Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday for choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate.

“My friend and fellow Governor @Tim_Walz will make an outstanding Vice President,” Mills wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “A high ranking military veteran, retired school teacher and football coach, and proud father, Tim is a fighter for the American people.”

Harris “made an excellent choice,” she wrote.

My friend and fellow Governor @Tim_Walz will make an outstanding Vice President. A high ranking military veteran, retired school teacher and football coach, and proud father, Tim is a fighter for the American people. @KamalaHarris has made an excellent choice.

— Janet Mills (@JanetMillsforME) August 6, 2024

Harris announced her choice Tuesday morning and was scheduled to appear with Walz at a rally in Pennsylvania later Tuesday.

Gov. Janet Mills said on X “Governor Tim Walz will make an outstanding Vice President.” Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press, file

In a statement provided to the Press Herald, Mills said she got to know Walz during their coinciding terms as governor. Both Mills and Walz took office in 2019.

“I count him as a friend and colleague. I have seen him in a leadership position where he has forged bipartisan consensus on veterans issues, for instance. He is smart, approachable and honest. I respect him deeply,” she said.

Walz, a 60-year-old veteran who’s been governor of Minnesota since 2019 and was a U.S. representative for a dozen years before that, has a history of protecting abortion rights and supporting labor unions.

Walz’s first term as governor was tumultuous, as he had to deal with COVID-19 crises and the widespread upset, rioting and damage following George Floyd’s killing by a former Minneapolis police officer.

While Walz faced criticism for his response to the riots, he was reelected for a second term as governor in 2022, when the narrow Democratic majorities in the Legislature were able to pass a long list of progressive priorities such as marijuana legalization, universal school meals, paid family and medical leave, and ambitious new clean energy standards.

Marpheen Chann is one of 32 delegates the Maine Democrats will be sending to the Democratic National Convention. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Marpheen Chann, a Portland Democrat and Maine delegate to the Democratic National Convention later this month, said he is “incredibly excited” and “not surprised” about Walz being Harris’ vice presidential candidate.

“I didn’t know much about Gov. Tim Walz before, but looking at his record, I’m very impressed,” Chann said. “Tim Walz has a proven track record of success as governor of Minnesota. He has a great resume as a former educator and someone who served in the U.S. Army.”

Chann emphasized that it is important that Walz has represented the Midwest.

“I think that Harris picking a Midwestern governor shows you where her priorities are. She wants America to know she’s going to be president for all of America,” Chann said.

When asked about Harris’ pool of potential vice presidential candidates being all white men, Chann said he cared most about Harris being the first Black and South Asian woman to become president. “I think people can say what they want about that, but Harris’ candidacy is still a historic candidacy,” Chann said. “That’s my focus.”

Vicky Cohen, of Farmington, is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Photo courtesy of Vicky Cohen

Vicky Cohen, a Democratic delegate from Farmington in Maine’s mostly rural 2nd Congressional District, said she’s “thrilled” that Harris picked Walz. Cohen said that while she also liked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for the job, she felt the Midwestern representation would be good for the ticket.

“I was hoping for Gov. Walz. He’s so articulate, and he’s so focused on priorities I agree with. His focus is for Minnesota to be the best place for a child to grow up. I’m a teacher, and he was a teacher. It says he is a public servant,” Cohen said.

Cohen also said it didn’t bother her that Harris’ top picks were all white men. “Having a balanced ticket in terms of gender, race, geography adds to the strength of the ticket. It doesn’t detract from it,” Cohen said.

Maine Democratic Party Chair Bev Uhlenhake expressed support for Walz in a written statement, saying, “Walz is a champion for America’s working families, his fellow veterans, and rural communities like the one he grew up in.”

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross also voiced support for the Harris-Walz ticket.

“As governor of Minnesota, (Walz) delivered for working families, stood up for fundamental freedoms like reproductive rights, and worked tirelessly to curb gun violence. And as a former teacher, coach and veteran, he knows that fighting for middle-class families like mine will build a stronger, more equitable and inclusive America,” Talbot Ross said in a statement.

Maine Senate President Troy Jackson said in a statement provided to the Press Herald that he “couldn’t be more thrilled with Kamala Harris’ pick for Vice President,” noting Walz’s priorities in supporting working class families.

“(Walz) is a proud former union member, who has delivered for working-class families as governor by making school meals free, working to lower the cost of insulin and supporting paid leave. With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House, we will have an administration that continues to fight for everyday, working-class people,” Jackson wrote.

U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree speaks at the Maine Democratic convention in Bangor in June. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, served with Walz in Congress for about a decade and said in a statement that Walz “will make an excellent Vice President.”

“Having served with him in Congress for many years, including on the House Agriculture Committee, I know Gov. Walz is not only kindhearted and even keeled but cares deeply about our country and has dedicated his life to serving. As a rural Minnesotan, he understands the challenges Mainers are facing and shares our commonsense values,” Pingree said.

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, who has distanced himself from his party as he seeks reelection in a district that has supported former President Donald Trump in the past two elections, did not provide any public statement in response to the selection of Walz.

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, has said he is not committed to supporting Kamala Harris. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press

A spokesperson for Golden said Tuesday he was touring the Allagash waterway and was not available to weigh in on the selection and whether the addition to the ticket makes a difference in whether he will support Harris for president.

Golden said last month that he is “absolutely not” committed to backing Harris and has to first hear more about her vision for the country.

Golden’s Republican opponent, state Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, has hammered him for that position and said he should be more transparent about whether he will support Harris.

Golden also did not participate Monday in a virtual roll call of delegates to the Democratic National Convention, even though he is a superdelegate by virtue of his office. Golden said the inclusion of superdelegates in the nomination vote violated the spirit of rule changes made after the 2016 primary to leave the decision to delegates chosen at the state conventions.