Tim Walz: Who is Kamala Harris's running mate?

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in her presidential campaign. The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to prominence with a series of straightforward television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek a second term. He transformed his state into a bastion of liberal legislation, and last year, it became one of the few states that safeguarded fans who purchased Taylor Swift concert tickets online and at other live events.

Tim Walz is from rural America

Tim Walz is the most vivid representation of the American heartland. Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, a hamlet of around 3,500 people northwest of Omaha. He joined the Army National Guard and then became a teacher in Nebraska.

Tim Walz and his wife relocated to Mankato, southern Minnesota, in the 1990s. He taught social studies and coached football at Mankato West High School, notably on the 1999 squad that won the school’s first of four state championships. Walz still refers to his union membership there.

Tim Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, advancing to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted positions. However, he did not finish all of the training before retiring, so his benefits rank was set to master sergeant.

He has a proven capacity to communicate with conservative voters.

In his first congressional contest, Tim Walz defeated a Republican incumbent. In 2006, he defeated six-term Rep. Gil Gutknecht in a primarily rural congressional district in southern Minnesota. Walz seized on voter dissatisfaction with then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq war.

During six times in the United States House, Walz advocated for veterans’ concerns.

He has also revealed a more down-to-earth side, as evidenced by social media video posts with his daughter, Hope. Last September, they tried “The Slingshot,” a Minnesota State Fair ride, after discussing fair food and her vegetarianism.

Tim Walz might boost the ticket in critical Midwestern states

While Tim Walz is not from one of Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania’s key “blue wall” states, which both sides believe they must win, he lives just next door. He could also ensure that Minnesota remains under Democratic control.

That’s significant because former President Donald Trump has characterized Minnesota as competitive this year even though the state hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006. Since President Richard Nixon’s overwhelming victory in 1972, no Republican presidential contender has taken the state, but Trump has already campaigned there.

When Democratic Governor Mark Dayton opted not to pursue a third term in 2018, Walz campaigned and won on a “One Minnesota” platform.

Walz also speaks confidently about problems that are important to Rust Belt voters. He has supported Democratic causes such as union organizing, workers’ rights, and a $15 per hour minimum wage.

He has experience with the split government

In his first tenure as governor, Tim Walz faced a divided Legislature with a Democratic-led House and a Republican-controlled Senate that opposed his ideas to raise taxes to fund schools, health care, and roads. However, he and lawmakers worked out concessions that made the state’s split administration appear functional.

During his second year, he invoked the governor’s emergency powers to close businesses and schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, making bipartisan cooperation more difficult. Republicans pushed back, forcing some agency leaders to resign. Republicans continue to criticize Walz for his tardy response to the sometimes violent turmoil that erupted after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

Walz’s second term became more straightforward as he defeated Republican Scott Jensen, a physician recognized nationwide as a vaccine skeptic. Democrats took control of both legislative chambers, paving the door for a more liberal approach to state government, aided by a massive budget surplus.

Tim Walz and lawmakers repealed nearly all of the previous state abortion restrictions set by Republicans, protected gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and legalized recreational marijuana usage.

Democrats rejected Republican calls to use the state budget surplus to cut taxes, instead funding free school meals for children, free tuition at public colleges for students from low-income families, a paid family and medical leave program, and health insurance coverage regardless of immigration status.

Tim Walz has an ear for soundbite politics

Tim Walz described Republican nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance as “just weird” in an MSNBC broadcast last month. The Democratic Governors Association — which Walz leads — echoed the same in a post on X. Walz subsequently confirmed the statement on CNN, citing Trump’s frequent references to the fictitious serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the film “Silence of the Lambs” in stump speeches.

The phrase rapidly became a motif for Harris and other Democrats, and it could potentially be a watchword in the probably bizarre 2024 election.