Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her own vice president should she win the election.
“It is the honor of a lifetime,” Walz said on social media. “I’m all in. Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school. So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us.”
The Democratic presidential nominee is expected to appear with her vice presidential pick at a Tuesday campaign rally in Philadelphia.
Here are some things to know about Walz.
🔍 Walz’s basic bio
Walz, 60, was born and raised in rural Nebraska. He attended public college in Nebraska, where he met his wife, and they moved to her home state of Minnesota. He worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minn., until he ran for Congress in 2006. He ran for governor in 2018 and won reelection in 2022. He currently chairs the Democratic governors’ national campaign effort.
👪 Walz’s family
Walz is married to his wife, Gwen, and they have two children together, Hope and Gus. Earlier this year, the governor shared his family’s struggle to have children and the IVF journey that got them there. “It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope,” he said.
He credits his children with keeping him in touch with Gen Z and with reversing his position on gun control.
It’s true. I’m a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner. But I’m also a dad. And for many years, I was a teacher.
I know basic gun safety isn’t a threat to my rights. It’s about keeping our kids safe.
I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine. https://t.co/R3ZX4A35GB
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) July 27, 2024
🪖 Military service
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and served 24 years, before retiring in 2005 as a command sergeant major. His military record may offer some contrast with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
😟 ‘Weird’ attack
Walz was among the first prominent Democrats to start labeling Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “weird,” an attack line that Harris and her campaign have consistently repeated.
He recently explained that the anti-Trump messaging was about avoiding “lift[ing] this guy up.”
“Yes, he’s a threat to global democracy and global peace, in my opinion,” Walz said in a podcast interview on Pod Save America. “I think your constitutional rights are under threat. That becomes almost overwhelming, and it’s not inspirational. And I think taking them down to what this is: This ‘weird’ thing is not an insult; it’s an observation. And people saying, ‘Well, Gov. Walz came up with this.’ No, people are telling me this. My Republican friends are telling me this.”
🚜 Folksy messenger
Walz often appears in casual clothes, wearing jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps at official events. He frequently discusses his rural roots, and he isn’t shy about using them to take digs at Vance, whose bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, documents the plight of Appalachia.
“I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can,” Walz recently said of Vance.
The governor has also generated headlines and viral social media videos with some of his one-liners. Pointing to Vance’s 2021 comment suggesting Harris was a “childless cat lady,” Walz quipped back: “My God, they went after cat people. Good luck with that. Turn on the internet and see what cat people do when you go after them.”
🖌️ Liberal record
Walz’s record in office is likely to excite some progressives and draw criticism from Republicans.
As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted, Minnesota Democrats “set new climate goals, pushing Minnesota to have 100% clean electricity by 2040 while creating a statewide paid leave program, legalizing marijuana for adults, passing stricter gun laws and giving unauthorized immigrants access to driver’s licenses.”
He also signed bills into law that enshrined the right to an abortion, as well as gender-affirming care.
One aspect of his record that may come under additional scrutiny is how Minnesota’s government handled the riots that followed the police murder of George Floyd in 2020. According to the Star-Tribune, “after-action assessments of the riot response found there was a breakdown in communication between government officials.”
➕ Read more
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House Democrats home in on Tim Walz for Harris ticket. “The amiable Walz was not only popular on Capitol Hill, but he also had the distinction of being the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in the history of Congress.” [The Hill]
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What you should know about Gov. Tim Walz’s record in office. “Walz’s journey to this moment has spanned decades.” [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
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How Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan May Become the First Native American State Governor. “Flanagan is Minnesota’s 50th lieutenant governor, a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and currently the country’s highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office.” [Native News Online]
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Harris leads in Minnesota polling; Trump loses grasp on flipping state red. “But Minnesota is a state of close calls.” [USA Today]
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How Minnesota changed during Tim Walz’s tenure. “Many of Walz’s most consequential decisions, like the response to an unprecedented pandemic or the implementation of universal free lunch in schools, aren’t easily captured in a chart.” [Minnesota Reformer]
