Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota’s progressive governor Tim Walz as her running mate as the clocked ticked down on the deadline after weeks of speculation.
Walz was one of multiple contenders who were floated to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee as Harris mounts her campaign to take on Donald Trump and J.D. Vance this November.
He was a favorite among some Democrats for his fierce criticism of Republicans. He was the first to start calling them ‘weird’ which has caught fire and been a line of attack from Democrats across the board in recent weeks as the race heats up.
But despite years of public service, nationally Walz was largely unknown before speculation about him being picked as Harris running mate began with President Biden’s exit from the race last month.
The 60-year-old father-of-two is a former U.S. congressman, school teacher and served more than two decades in the Army National Guard.
Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota ‘s progressive governor Tim Walz as her running mate after weeks of speculation
Walz was first elected governor of Minnesota in 2019 and was reelected for a second term in 2022.
Prior to that he represented Minnesota’s largely rural first congressional district along the state’s southern border in Congress since 2007.
Born in West Point, Nebraska in 1964, Walz grew up in a rural part of the state. His dad was a public school administrator. Walz’s graduating class in 1982 had 25 students.
He received his undergraduate degree from Chadron State College and later a master’s degree from Minnesota State University.
Governor Tim Walz in the summer of 1981. He enlisted in the National Guard when he was 17 and served 24 years
The governor ended up following in his father’s footsteps as a teacher and even taught English in China for a year in 1989 and can converse in Mandarin before moving back to Nebraska where he became a teacher and football coach, taking the team to win a state championship.
At the age of 17, Walz also enlisted in the National Guard. He served for 24 years before retiring as a master sergeant in 2005.
Walz married his wife Gwen, also a teacher originally from Minnesota, in 1994, and they moved to Mankato, MN a couple of years later. They have two children, a daughter Hope and son Gus.
Both of Walz kids were conceived using IVF. The governor has been a vocal supporter of the treatment as it has gained national attention amid concerns over some Republican efforts to block it. Walz has said his daughter was given her name, Hope, after their long effort to have her.
Gov. Walz takes a selfie with wife Gwen and their children Hope and Gus. They were both conceived through IVF and fertility treatment
Walz first ran for Congress in 2006 and unseated an incumbent Republican. He was the highest ranking enlisted soldier to serve in the House.
He announced he would run for Minnesota governor in 2018 after the incumbent Democrat announced he would not seek reelection.
As governor, Walz codified the right to abortion, signed universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and gave voting rights to former prisoners.
He is a close ally of the LGBTQ+ community, serving as a faculty advisor to the first gay-straight alliance at the high school when he was a teacher and later as governor with efforts to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for youths in the state.
Walz likes to tout health care access in his state. His administration has implemented drug pricing transparency requirements and reached a deal with Eli Lilly to cap insulin prices in the state.
Gov. Walz greets Vice President Kamala Harris at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota on March 14, 2024
Walz campaigns with his wife Gwena and daughter Hope. He doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee, he is a huge fan of Diet Mountain Dew
As the 2024 race heated up and his name was floated as a potential running mate for the vice president, Walz appeared for a series of interviews to defend Democrats and take on Republicans.
The 60-year-old is credited with being the person who started the trend of calling Republicans ‘weird’ for their actions and policies.
On July 23, Walz appeared on MSNBC. It’s believed to be how ‘weird’ took off nationally with everyone from the vice president to Democratic pundits jumping in.
‘We do not like what has happened, when you can’t even go to Thanksgiving dinner with your uncle because you end up in some weird fight that is unnecessary,’ Walz said. ‘Well, it’s true. These guys are just weird.’
The governor doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee, he is a huge fan of Diet Mountain Dew and was arrested for DWI in Nebraska in 1995, before he quit drinking, according to the Star Tribune.
The paper also reported that Walz rides in the passenger seat when he is on official duty because he gets carsick in the backseat.
The choice to bring Walz onto the Democratic ticket was a welcomed by progressives and could help Democrats shore up Minnesota as they focus efforts on the seven other battleground states.
But Republicans have already seized on his liberal leanings. Last month, Walz pushed back that Democrats should not shy away from progressive values.
‘One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness,’ he said.
Walz is also a runner, served in the Army National Guard and has hundreds of challenge coins he has collected in his office
In Minnesota he has codified the right to abortion, signed universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and gave voting rights to former prisoners
Minnesota voted for Hillary Clinton 1.5 percent over Donald Trump and four years later widened the blue to red ratio by voting 7.1 percent for Biden over the former president.
The state is considered to be a ‘lean Democrat’ for the 2024 election, according to Cook Political Report.