Running mate of Harris - who is Tim Walz?
Kamala Harris enters US election race with Tim Walz as her running mate. Until recently, the Minnesota governor was largely unknown outside his Midwestern state. However, Walz has an unusual resume. In politics, he's a late starter.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has chosen a man with a stark contrast to her own background as her vice-presidential candidate. The former California prosecutor has picked a former teacher from the Midwest, a veteran, and a hunter.
The 60-year-old former National Guard member, teacher, football coach, and legislator owes his meteoric rise in part to a buzzword he successfully introduced into the campaign against Donald Trump in recent weeks: "weird". The term, meaning "strange" or "peculiar", is applied by Walz to both Trump and his vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance.
It's not as derogatory as Trump's constant insults, but it paints the Republican rivals as figures with eccentric and unrealistic views - and thus, laughing stocks.
Walz demonstrated this - and "weird" has since become the label that Vice President Harris and other representatives of her party constantly apply to Trump and Vance. With this catchy attribute, Walz has proven his valuable skill for the Harris campaign: simple, powerful formulation in words that reach even voters without academic education.
Down-to-earth and direct
Walz, 60, has been Minnesota's governor since 2019 and served many years as a representative in the House before that. Before politics, he was a teacher. The father of two is not known for a strong national profile, but is known for his down-to-earth and direct way of communicating political messages.
Born in 1964 in a small town in rural Nebraska, Walz often speaks about how his mother struggled to make ends meet after his father's death. His father was a school administrator and died of cancer when Walz was 19.
He joined the National Guard at 17 and was sent to various places, including the Arctic, during his 24-year service. In 1989, he graduated with a degree in social sciences from a Nebraska college.
Walz spent a year teaching abroad before returning to the US to serve full-time in the National Guard and eventually take a job as a high school teacher and football coach. As a teacher, Walz worked in an indigenous reservation in South Dakota and, as part of a Harvard University program, in China.
Late starter in politics
He met his wife, Gwen, in his home state of Nebraska. They married in 1994 and later moved to her home state of Minnesota, where they both taught at the same high school and he also coached football.
Walz switched to politics mid-career: he was elected to the House of Representatives in Washington in 2006 and then to Minnesota governor in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022. His political profile combines a folksy demeanor and clear language with left-leaning policy positions.
Governor Walz has enacted laws to legalize cannabis, enhance worker's rights, and strengthen gun buyer checks. He also advocates for abortion rights and climate protection - all stances that align him with Harris.
**"We share the same values. I believe we can win the Midwest," Walz said about Harris two weeks ago. After being recruited by her as her running mate on Tuesday, he expressed excitement: "It feels a bit like the first day of school," he admitted on X, then added determinedly, "Let's get this done, folks!"
Breakfast and Lunch for All Students
Currently, Walz serves as the chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), a group of governors who are Democrats. He also sits on several national party committees. Former Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp told the "New York Times" that Walz seems like "someone with life experiences comparable to many people in rural America."
As governor, he has advocated for free school meals, abortion rights protection, voting rights strengthening, renewable energy expansion, middle-class tax cuts, and paid family leave in Minnesota.
His stance on guns has evolved over the years. "I'm a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner. But I'm also a father. And for many years, I was a teacher," he wrote on X at the end of July. Gun laws, he said, are not a threat to his rights. "It's about protecting our children."
Contrast to Kamala Harris
As a white older man, Walz is seen as the complementary figure to Harris, who could become the first woman, Black, and Asian American president in U.S. history. By choosing the Minnesota governor, Harris aims to broaden her campaign's appeal beyond the Democratic base.
Walz is expected to help Harris convince voter groups that often perceive Democrats as out of touch and elitist. As a representative of the Midwest, he could also help win crucial "swing states" in the region.
While Minnesota, which traditionally leans Democratic, is not among the states at risk of a Democratic loss in November, Harris hopes that Walz can appeal to voters in other Midwest states like Wisconsin and Michigan, which are considered swing states.
The US presidential election of 2024 is shaping up to be an interesting contest, with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as a potential Democratic ticket. Walz, the down-to-earth and direct governor of Minnesota, could help Harris broaden her campaign's appeal beyond the Democratic base and potentially win crucial "swing states" in the Midwest.
