Who is Tim Walz?
Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, was announced today as Kamala Harris’ running mate and the almost-certain 2024 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.
But who exactly is Tim Walz?
Walz graduated from Chadron State College with an education degree after serving in the National Guard. He worked as a geography teacher and football coach at Mankato High School where he coached the football team to their first state championship in 1999. That same year, he agreed to be the faculty advisor for the school’s first gay-straight alliance.
While in the National Guard, he trained in heavy artillery and worked stateside in disaster response but was also deployed overseas for several months. He retired in 2005 achieving the rank of command sergeant major.
After volunteering for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, Walz resolved to run for Congress in 2006 where he defeated Republican Minnesota state representative Gil Gutknecht and became only the fourth Democrat to win election in his district.
He was reelected to the House of Representatives in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.
While Walz was in Congress, he served on the House Agricultural Committee, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Armed Services Committee. He was the chair of the Congressional EMS Caucus, Co-Chair of the National Guard and Reserve Component Caucus, Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, and Congressional Veterans Job Caucus as well as a member of the LGBT Equality and Congressional Arts Caucuses.
As a member of the House, he co-sponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage, voted in favor of stem cell research, and advanced the Affordable Care Act out of the House. In 2015, he was ranked as the seventh most bipartisan House member, according to the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center.
In 2018, Walz announced that he would run for governor of Minnesota and defeated Republican Jeff Johnson by a margin of 53.8% to 42.4%. He ran for reelection in 2022 where he defeated Republican Scott Jensen 52.3% to 44.6%.
Walz has advocated for legalizing recreational marijuana, lowering college tuition costs, instituting universal background checks and red-flag laws for firearm ownership, and establishing federal anti-discrimination laws for sexual orientation.
He condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel but took a more neutral view of those participating in college protests saying they were “civically engaged” and “had a right to be heard.” He has also come out in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
He has supported enhanced benefits for veterans and also is in favor of abortion rights.
As Minnesota governor, he has passed laws legalizing abortion and marijuana, providing refuge to trans youth whose access to care has been hindered in their home state, expanding paid family leave, providing universal breakfast and lunch for students, and capping the price of insulin.
Democrats hope that Walz will help them hold on to Rust Belt states that they recaptured in the 2020 election and also appeal to several independent and moderate voters.
Although Walz did not have the initial name recognition that other vice president candidates had, he gained notoriety during a Morning Joe interview where he called former president Donald Trump and his vice president pick JD Vance as “weird”.
This messaging has become a core part of Democratic messaging heading into the DNC national convention and the peak of presidential election season.
Walz has used his folksy, Midwestern appeal to knock JD Vance’s claims of being from Appalachia and also calling out Republican policies, saying they have “divided” rural America.
“They divided us. They’re in our exam rooms. They’re telling us what books to read. And what I think what Kamala Harris knows is bringing people together around the shared values, strong public schools, strong labor unions that create the middle class, health care that’s affordable and accessible, those are the things,” Walz said in an article by NBC News.
Walz is expected to appear at his first rally as a vice presidential nominee later today in Pennsylvania before embarking on a multi-state rally tour with presidential nominee Kamala Harris.