Democratic Governor Tim Walz is not a household name outside of his home state of Minnesota, and now Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen him as her running mate on the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket. This announcement has sparked a wave of reactions, with many wondering about the man behind the name.
Walz’s biography has been blasted out on social media platforms like Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, as the Harris campaign tries to spotlight the governor in a new video. Harris and Walz are set to begin a whirlwind campaign tour through key battleground states, starting in Pennsylvania, which will likely play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of their election against former President Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
However, many Americans remain unfamiliar with Walz. According to a new poll by Marist College for NPR and the PBS NewsHour, seven in ten Americans don’t know enough about the governor to form an opinion. As she boarded Air Force Two on her way to Philadelphia, Harris expressed confidence in Walz, saying he “is going to make a great vice president” and explaining her choice over other front-runners like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
The Harris campaign announced that they raised more than $10 million from grassroots supporters shortly after revealing Walz as the running mate, making it “one of the campaign’s best fundraising days this cycle.” The selection of the 60-year-old Walz wasn’t a complete surprise, as his name had been in contention since Harris succeeded President Biden as the party’s nominee.
Walz, a former high school teacher and coach who spent nearly 25 years in the National Guard, was elected to the House in 2006 and re-elected five times. He represented Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, a mostly rural area covering the southern part of the state.
Having Walz on the national ticket is expected to help Harris in Minnesota, a state that leans blue but has been targeted by the Trump campaign. Additionally, it could benefit Harris in neighboring Midwestern battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan. Walz’s progressive policy victories in Minnesota, including protecting abortion rights, legalizing recreational marijuana, and restricting gun access, are likely to please the progressive wing of the party.
“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his,” Harris said, highlighting Walz’s deep convictions on fighting for middle-class families. She emphasized his personal story, including growing up in a small Nebraska town, enlisting in the National Guard at 17, using GI Bill benefits to attend college, and becoming a teacher.
However, the Trump campaign has quickly targeted Walz, calling him weird. A new Trump campaign video accused Harris of doubling down on her “radical vision for America” by choosing Walz, whom they labeled as weird. Vance, in Philadelphia ahead of the Democratic ticket’s arrival, criticized Walz’s record as governor, calling it weird and labeling him “one of the most far-left radicals in the entire United States government at any level.”
As Harris and Walz hold rallies in key swing states, Vance will be tailing them with smaller-scale events, continuing the contentious battle for the 2024 election.
