Wedged inside a crowded cafe near downtown Atlanta last month, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was powering through his usual talking points about protecting democracy and bolstering the economy, energizing a crowd of several dozen students from nearby historically Black colleges and universities.
Then, for a moment, he paused on race and identity.
“I think for all of you, being in the heart of the H.B.C.U.s, the vice president doesn’t talk about the historic nature of her candidacy — she just does the work,” Mr. Walz said, as the crowd murmured its agreement. “But I think for all of us, there is a moment in time to understand what’s happening here. I think, I feel, especially amongst young people, they recognize what it means, what this candidacy means.”
Mr. Walz never plainly stated the obvious fact: If elected, his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, would become the first female president, and the first Black woman and Indian person to hold the nation’s highest office.
But even his passing reference to the barrier-breaking possibility was notable. Ms. Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and whose mother is from India, rarely mentions her racial identity or gender on the campaign trail. Even when her opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, falsely claimed that Ms. Harris “happened to turn Black,” she criticized his comments without directly talking about race.
Instead, it has fallen to Mr. Walz — a 60-year-old white man — to become the campaign’s more prominent messenger on race and identity. Though it’s hardly the main thrust of his stump speeches, for many, it’s no surprise why the job would fall to him.
The history-making nature of Ms. Harris’s candidacy excites at least some in the party, but there are also middle-of-the-road voters who recoil from what they see as identity politics.
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