It’s official: 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris picks Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
A month ago, Harris was the running mate, but things change quickly in electoral politics. Several candidates were rumored to be in the mix for the spot, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and US Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg.
The Harris-Walz ticket will face Donald Trump and JD Vance, the Republican nominees for president and vice president, respectively.
Harris Picks Tim Walz: The Rollout Tour
Vice President Harris will hit the road with Governor Walz beginning today, Tuesday, August 6. The big reveal will happen at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon.
From there, the Harris-Walz ticket will barnstorm across the country. They will go to Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, and Nevada. The Georgia rally is slated to be in Savannah, but given the ongoing effects of Tropical Storm Debby, the status of that campaign event on Friday, August 9 is to be determined.
Tim Walz: A Brief Biography
Tim Walz was born in Nebraska, but moved to Minnesota in the 1990s. Both Kamala Harris and Walz were born in 1964. Prior to his career in politics, Walz was in the United States Army and served in the Army National Guard for decades. He was also a high school teacher and football coach.
Walz did not become involved in politics until the 2000s, and he made his first run for office in 2006. He ran in the 1st District of Minnesota, which sits on the southern border of the state and included Rochester and Mankato then as well as now. He upset Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht by a margin of 53 to 47 percent, giving Democrats a big win in a district where the incumbent had gotten nearly 60 percent in 2004.
Tim Walz won re-election to the House five times, winning most elections comfortably but he did have a close call in 2016 against Jim Hagedorn. The latter would go on to win the seat in 2018, but not against Walz, as the congressman ran for governor.
Walz won the 2018 gubernatorial election by about 11 points over Republican Jeff Johnson. He would be re-elected by a slightly reduced margin in 2022 of about eight points.
During his term, Walz has highlighted the following policy achievements on his website, which include:
- A free breakfast and lunch program in public schools
- Secured abortion rights and gender-affirming care in the state
- Legalized cannabis use for adults
- Action on lowering prescription drug costs
How Will Walz Play?
Just based on the above alone, expect the Trump-Vance ticket and its surrogates to paint Walz as being very liberal. He does have progressive policy achievements, and in general has been one of the busier governors in the country in terms of advancing a legislative agenda.
Where the GOP must be careful is that Walz is a very good public speaker. He is a Midwesterner through and through, and exudes a certain charm and down-to-earth quality which may play well with certain voters. If they go down the road of trying too hard to paint him as a monster, that may backfire, as that is not the energy he gives off at all.
Walz has been a Harris surrogate in her brief campaign up until now, and he has acquitted himself favorably among Democrats. Now he must push his message to a national audience while sharing the spotlight, so we will see how he does.
