RALEIGH — In a call with reporters, NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons and Congressman Dan Bishop (NC-08) slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of running mate as “far left.”
“Kamala Harris is already the most radical presidential nominee in history, and yesterday she doubled down by selecting Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, who is as far left as anyone who’s ever contemplated running four of the top two offices in America,” said Simmons.
“Kamala Harris is doubling down on the dangerous and far-left progressive agenda,” said Simmons, later adding, “Harris-Walz is a progressive dream and would be America’s nightmare.”
“I think Tim Walz’s comments that we’ve seen recorded sum it up,” said Bishop, who will face U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson in November race for attorney general. “He says, ‘one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.’ That is a conceiving of the political system in America on terms we never contemplated before, we’ve never seen in a major party candidate before.”
Both Simmons and Bishop accused Harris and Walz of failure in leadership, particularly regarding public safety.
“What we have seen in Tim Walz is an individual who has failed the people of Minnesota time and time again,” said Bishop, noting that Walz withheld the National Guard from Minneapolis when rioters burned large areas of the city.
“Vice President Harris, in that same set of events, promoted bail funds for rioters, which bailed out now-convicted rapists, assaulters and murderers out of jail,” Bishop added, referring to Harris’ promotion of the “Minnesota Freedom Fund,” which later was shown to have bailed out a number of violent criminals.
When asked what the impact of Harris picking Walz would be in North Carolina, Simmons said voters in the state have shown “no indication that they would embrace that far-left agenda.”
“But we welcome that pick as it will continue to highlight that binary choice between an America First agenda as against what is purely the farthest left ticket in American history; one that is dangerous, one that will continue to have a devastating impact on our economy, the southern border and our standing in the world,” said Simmons.
Simmons and Bishop contrasted the Harris/Walz ticket with the Republican ticket of former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as representing an “America First” agenda.
“We look forward to continuing to highlight President Trump and Sen. JD Vance’s America First agenda that will continue to restore America’s standing in the world, restore our southern border, and especially restore our economy,” said Simmons.
Bishop went on to criticize Harris’s effectiveness as vice president, saying, “There’s always a pretense of grand responsibility and accomplishment but no action.
“Take the border chaos as an example. People want to quibble over the terminology of ‘border czar,’ but she was imparted responsibility, and that has been an enormous disaster that worsens life in America every day.”
When asked if there was an issue with the recent announcement of a “Republicans for Harris” coalition, Simmons dismissed it.
“The so-called Republicans that Harris has rolled out have long left the party,” said Simmons. “And any indication that they continue to be Republicans is a farce, especially the number of individuals that they rolled out with North Carolina ties.”
The Republicans for Harris movement in North Carolina, made up of former GOP activists and Trump critics, is led by former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, who in the past six years has been involved in Democrat-led lawsuits with Democrat candidates, such as former congressional candidate Dan McCready. Orr “made it official” in a post on X that he was leaving the party in February 2021.
The national Republicans for Harris aims to court Haley voters and create “a permission structure” for GOP voters who wouldn’t normally be voting for Harris, according to The Associated Press.
Bishop also dismissed concerns that the GOP would lose voters with the choice of Vance as Trump’s vice president.
“I don’t honestly believe you can make the case that either Donald Trump or JD Vance are anything like out on the wing of the Republican Party in the way that the Kamala Harris and Walz are on the Democratic Party,” said Bishop.
The most recent N.C. presidential polls published by Nate Silver’s 538 website have shown Trump up over Harris by 2%. The polls took place before Walz was added to the ticket. Before Harris replaced President Joe Biden on the ticket, average polling had Trump ahead in the Tarheel State by almost 12%.
Following Walz as Harris’ pick, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton announced a call to be held with Walz, along with “so many more dirt road democrats” to “come together to take back our communities from GOP fear-mongering!!!
