PHOENIX โ She wonโt get a chance to name the stateโs next senator.
And no one from Arizona will be on the ticket.
But Gov. Katie Hobbs pronounced herself โabsolutely thrilledโโ Tuesday that Kamala Harris had chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was a finalist.
โIโve had the chance to work with him directly on many issues and have seen first-hand his dedication to the American people,โโ Hobbs said of Walz.
And Hobbs said that Walz, given his position, brings something to the table.
โI know the governors know what it takes to deliver for their states,โโ Hobbs said. โAnd I am confident Gov. Wallz and Vice President Harris will deliver for Arizona.โโ
That still leaves the question of what Walz brings to the ticket.
Kelly could have helped Harris deal with questions about security and immigration coming from a border state. There also are the stateโs 11 electoral votes.
And Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who also had been on the potential veep short list, comes from a battleground state with 19 electoral votes.
By contrast, Minnesota is generally considered a more reliable blue state. And it brings only 10 electoral votes to the table of what Harris would need to reach 270.
Hobbs, however, said she sees the pick of Walz through a different lens.
โHe is America,โโ she said. โHeโs a former high school teacher, a football coach, heโs a hunter, heโs a runner.โโ
The governor said she is taking nothing away from those who fell into the also-ran category.
โThe vice president had a lot of great people to choose from,โโ Hobbs said. โAnd it was not an easy choice for her.โโ
If Kelly had joined the ticket and Harris won in November, that would have been the first time in U.S. history that a vice president had come from Arizona.
No Arizonan ever has been president, either.
In fact, there has been a joke going around for years that Arizona is the one state where a parent canโt tell a child he or she could grow up to be president, a fact attested to by losses by Barry Goldwater in 1964, Mo Udall in 1976, Bruce Babbitt in 1988 and John McCain two decades later.
A Harris victory with Kelly as her running mate also would have created the opportunity for Hobbs to pick his replacement who would serve until 2026 when he or she would have to run for the balance of the six-year term to which Kelly was first elected.
So, all things taken into account, is she disappointed Kelly wonโt be on the ticket?
โSen. Kelly would have been a great choice,โโ the governor responded.
โI have worked with him a lot to deliver for Arizona,โโ she said. โI know as vice president he would have continued that.โโ
But the governor sidestepped a question of whether she believes that failing to choose Kelly undermines Harrisโ chances of snagging the popular vote in Arizona?
โHonestly, I think that, again, she had a lot of good choices,โโ Hobbs responded.
โAnd theyโre going to do everything they can to make the case to voters across America, including here in Arizona,โโ she continued. โWeโre going to see that first-hand on Friday.โโ
Thatโs the day Harris and Walz are scheduled to stop here after a multi-state tour that began Tuesday in Philadelphia. There also are stops planned in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Detroit; Durham, North Carolina; Savanna, Georgia, before Phoenix and then on to Las Vegas.
As to her own attendance on Friday, the governor said she does not yet know her schedule for that day.
One thing Hobbs did make clear: If Harris and Walz win, sheโs not looking for a slot in their administration.
โIโm governor of Arizona, and thatโs my plan for the next six years,โโ she said, predicting her own reelection in 2026.
