Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, according to multiple reports, tapping the Midwestern establishment with deep roots in rural America to balance the ticket. the Democratic president.
Harris’ election effectively ends a stormy run for the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden decided to drop out of the 2024 race. Harris became the presumptive nominee, buoyed by Biden’s endorsement, after to clear the field of great opponents.
Walz, 60, has served both in Congress and as Minnesota’s governor, boasting an impressive resume that made him one of two other reported finalists, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won Minnesota since Richard Nixon in 1972, but the Trump campaign hopes they can make the state competitive. The former president held a rally in Minnesota shortly before Walz’s nomination was announced.
Like others who wanted to join the ticket, Walz made sure to fill the media blitz in recent days. During his quasi-examination, the Minnesotan indicated that he was willing to accept the role of “attack dog” that is often accepted by running mates. Walz told Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the GOP vice president, as someone who didn’t understand what small town America was really about.
“What I do know is that people like JD Vance know nothing about small town America,” Walz recently told MSNBC. “My town had 400 people in it, 2,400 kids in my graduating class, 12 of them were cousins, and you find something wrong. It’s not about hate. When it’s the fallout that ruined America.”
As governor, Walz has signed a series of legislative priorities, including guarantees for paid family and medical leave, protections for abortion rights, gun control and recreational marijuana. . He also led the country in response to the riots and unrest after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Voters gave Democrats narrow control of the state Senate in 2022, giving Walz the trifecta to start his term. the second and opening the wave for his many achievements. in St. Paul.
Unknown on the national stage, Walz has increased his profile since being elected chairman of the powerful Democratic Governors Association. Two former presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, became US presidents. Walz is also co-chairman of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee, which has put him in the middle of a battle to hold the election before the actual convention begins in Chicago on August 19.
Walz’s life was shaped by rural America
The Harris campaign is likely to present Walz’s life story as similar to that of many Americans, especially in the Midwest.
Walz grew up in rural Nebraska. At the age of 17, he joined the National Army and spent 24 years in the Army. He attended Chadron State College, a public university, before following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a teacher. According to the Omaha World Herald, Walz’s first teaching job was at the Pine Ridge Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota tribe.
Walz met his wife, Gwen, while teaching in Nebraska. The couple later moved to Minnesota. Walz has been open about how he and his wife needed insemination in order to have children.
Tim Walz celebrates his Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary victory in August 2018. Stephen Mature / Getty Images
When Walz first ran for Congress in 2005, he was still teaching high school. In 2006, he fired Rep. Republican Gil Gutknecht during a banner year for the Democrats, who took back both houses of Congress when the nation turned against the war in Iraq.
Walz is representing his largely rural district, which borders Iowa, for six terms.
According to GovTrack, Walz has established a centrist record in his 12 years in Congress, perhaps a testament to the conservative-leaning district. In 2018, a Republican won a seat in the House.
During Walz’s five re-election campaigns, he boasted an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, according to MinnPost. But when Walz ran for governor, he said his opinion on the matter had changed.
Walz’s nomination gives the party a credible Midwestern voice at the highest level of Democratic politics, a major asset as the campaign sees the Michigan and Wisconsin contests as a key part of its electoral calculations. in November.
While Republicans are poised to win more rural areas across the Midwest, Democrats aren’t giving up on those areas. If the Harris-Walz ticket can prevail in urban areas while capturing small towns and reducing the GOP’s rural boundaries, they have the potential to run at a level not seen since President Barack Obama made the call. up for re-election in 2012.
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