Politicians and groups across Virginia offered support of and opposition to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joining Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign as her running mate, following the announcement of his selection Monday.

“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked Gov. Tim Walz to be my running mate,” Harris said in a statement announcing the choice. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his own.”

Democrats in Richmond and across Virginia largely echoed this sentiment, celebrating Walz’s professional, personal and legislative history as governor and in Congress, and what his selection could bring to the campaign and the White House.

“Virginia is fired up to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz this November,” Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney said in a social media post. “Our Commonwealth went blue in 2020 and we’re going to do it again this year. As Richmond’s Mayor, I’m proud to support the Harris/Walz ticket.”

“His service as a public school teacher… in the U.S. Army… in the House of Representatives… and as Governor of Minnesota is only the beginning,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said. “Thrilled to see Tim Walz join VP Harris’ ticket.”

State Sen. Lamont Bagby highlighted Walz’s policies around paid leave, meals for schoolchildren and experience as a teacher as promising signs for his vice presidency and the potential for the ticket to prioritize “building and expanding for middle and working-class Americans.”

“From ensuring paid leave to ensuring meals for schoolchildren, Tim Walz is an outstanding choice to partner with our next President, Kamala Harris,” Bagby said. “Believe me when I say that this ticket is in clear alignment with the agenda of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.”

U.S. Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, meanwhile, put it simply in a social media post: “We’ve got our ticket. Let’s go!”

Republican reaction to Walz’s selection, in contrast, has focused on denouncing his tenure as governor.

In a statement on social media, the Republican Party of Virginia described Walz as “the most radical liberal vice presidential nominee in American history.” They criticized his response to the community uproar in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by police, as well as his previous statements and positions on immigration and universal health care.

“By picking Walz, Harris further confirmed what we already knew – that a Harris administration would be a puppet regime of the radical progressive left,” the statement read. Derrick Anderson, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 7th District running against Democrat Euguene Vindman for the seat after Abigail Spanberger opted to run instead for governor of Virginia, made much of the same points in a statement.

“Now is the time for strong, effective leadership, but Tim Walz, like my opponent, represents the failed policies of the past,” Anderson wrote. “I’m looking to the future — I want to give people in VA-7 hope.”

Harris and Walz made their first joint campaign appearance at a rally in Philadelphia on Monday. This event was the first of a five-day event schedule to introduce the ticket across key battleground states.