Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz said the Electoral College "needs to go" in favor of deciding the presidency by a popular vote, reflecting concerns Vice President Kamala Harris could face a repeat of 2016 when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College to Donald Trump.
"I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go," Walz said at a campaign fundraiser with California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to Politico. "We need a national popular vote that is something. But that's not the world we live in."
Campaign officials were quick to point out Walz "believes that every vote matters" in the Electoral College and his position is not the campaign's stance.
"He is honored to be traveling the country and battleground states working to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket," a campaign spokesperson 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."
Walz said he and Newsom had been talking about the idea of abolishing the Electoral College earlier.
Pool reports said he moved on to comment the campaign must focus on winning in swing counties in states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Nevada.
The governor has made similar comments at a Seattle fundraiser, and as governor, he signed legislation in May 2023 seeking to replace the Electoral College.
He also said during a fundraiser last month at the New York home of investor and philanthropist Alex Soros and his fiance, former Clinton staffer Huma Abedin, that he is a "pragmatist and a realist" about the system.
"That's the Electoral College system, the way it's set up, and the states that we're vying for are incredibly close," he said. "The good news on this is the vice president and I and everyone that's out there in these states are feeling the energy."
Harris, when running for president in 2019, told "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that she was "open to the discussion" of ending the Electoral College.
"There's no question that the popular vote has been diminished in terms of making the final decision about who's the president of the United States, and we need to deal with that, so I'm open to the discussion," she told Kimmel.