Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz meets union members during a campaign rally Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at UAW Local 900 in Wayne, Mich., also attended by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

By Carrie Santoro, the Rev. Gregory Edwards and Maegan Llerena

“Dance with the one who brung ya” is a quote by Darrell Royal, legendary University of Texas football coach. To Royal, this was a commonsense strategy to win — using plays that had proven successful. In American politics, it’s taken on a different meaning: loyalty to those you credit with getting you elected.

That loyalty is too often tied to who’s holding a politician’s bag, rather than the people who hire our elected officials with our votes. This disconnect has dire consequences: Last year, only 16% of Americans said they trusted the government — among the lowest measures in almost seven decades.

As voters’ faith in government is at a low, isolation from each other is at a high, and authoritarianism reaches a rolling boil, Vice President Kamala Harris enters the chat. She has humor and joy. She has a bold vision for our country’s future. She doesn’t suffer fools. And now, she has Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

As leaders of organizations that knocked on 487,022 doors and had 53,341 conversations across 12 counties to elect Josh Shapiro governor, we would be remiss in not addressing that elephant in the room. Shapiro’s popularity masks the long-term risk of the compromise-at-any-cost strategy of archetypical politicians.

Shaking hands with large donors like Jeffrey Yass and special interests like fossil fuels behind closed doors while kissing our babies on the campaign trail compromises our ability to draw a contrast between politicians. Worst of all, politically motivated backroom deals with billionaires have real impacts on Pennsylvanians.

Decades of these compromises have left voters aching for hope and vision for our future. The Harris-Walz ticket and people-powered organizations like ours are the antidote. Let’s be clear: Organizing gets the goods. Walz is a fighter for the people, and he was pushed by the power of working people who took action with community organizations to deliver real change for Minnesotans.

With Walz, the Harris campaign is meeting the moment and answering the calls of an electorate in flux, building on a winning strategy and showing us a path forward. They’re giving working people across race and place a vision to vote for, rather than a crisis to vote against. They’re leaving behind politics of old, wherein MAGA Republicans and billionaires move the Overton window, enabled by shrugging Democrats who talk the talk during a campaign, but time and again fail to walk the walk after an election, instead bestowing their loyalty to the same billionaires who throw their wealth into undermining our democracy.

There’s a stark difference between Walz, a longtime public school teacher whose entrance into the political arena was catalyzed by standing up to bullies, and Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, a former venture capitalist with ties to private equity. Vance’s views change with the wind of political opportunity rather than with voters. Walz’s record shows he actually fights for working families.

Vance says he’ll address the housing crisis by deporting our immigrant neighbors. Walz and organizers across Minnesota took steps to actually fix the housing crisis by investing $1 billion in affordable housing, and granted driver’s licenses for residents living in the state without legal permission while they were at it.

Vance says he cares about working families. Walz made sure that they’re granted 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. Vance’s friends have plans to eliminate the Department of Education. Walz expanded funding for schools and made sure every student in Minnesota has free lunch.

As we survive record-breaking heat, Vance’s backers plan to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency. Walz and Minnesotans put pen to paper for a carbon-free electric grid by 2040.

In his speech in Philadelphia, Walz said he knows how to compromise without compromising his values. He’s proven he can hold nuance on issues that matter and grow with his electorate. Walz’s experience as a teacher conditioned him to listen to young people — a skill sorely needed as young voters buck the narrative that they’re politically apathetic, and as those born in 2006, the largest birth year since 1961, reach voting age this year. Like Harris, this generation doesn’t suffer fools.

Voters across race, place and generation now have a choice between two distinct futures. On one hand: the Harris-Walz future where we can realize a people’s economy — where all of us can thrive, corporations and billionaires pay the taxes they owe, and people and planet come before profits. On the other: the Trump-Vance future outlined in the authoritarian hellscape that is Project 2025.

Harris and Walz are paving the way for a winning strategy — fighting for working families. Let’s win this in November. Then let’s keep winning in Pennsylvania’s budget next year. Pennsylvania legislators, take note: We’ve seen the Minnesota miracle and we’re not going back. Get ready to dance with the ones who brung ya.

Carrie Santoro of Allentown is executive director of Pennsylvania Stands Up, the Rev. Gregory Edwards of Allentown is interim executive director of Power Interfaith, and Maegan Llerena of Whitehall Township is executive director of Make the Road Action Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Stands Up, Power Interfaith and Make the Road Action Pennsylvania are statewide organizations representing more than 18,000 members across 12 counties with a shared mission of building governing power for poor and working class Pennsylvanians.

(Originally posted in The Morning Call)