Harris taps Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks astatine a DNC property convention connected July 17 successful Milwaukee. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images North America)

For much connected nan 2024 election, caput to the NPR Network’s unrecorded updates page.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Tim Walz, nan second-term Minnesota politician pinch a folksy demeanor, has gained a spot connected nan Democratic summons arsenic Kamala Harris’ vice statesmanlike choice.

The erstwhile precocious schoolhouse surface science coach and National Guard seasoned helped green-light a slate of progressive argumentation priorities in Minnesota.

“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for moving families for illustration his,” Harris wrote successful a statement. “We are going to build a awesome partnership.”

Harris picked Walz for his executive acquisition and activity connected issues that nan run besides hopes to attraction on, including kid taxation credits, weapon information and abortion rights, according to sources adjacent to nan run who were not authorized to talk nan determination publicly. They besides pointed to his Midwest background, which could thief entreaty to cardinal voters, and expertise to beryllium an effective messenger against nan Trump-Vance ticket.

In caller interviews, Walz has described erstwhile President Donald Trump’s argumentation priorities as “weird” and said Democrats would grow reproductive health, voting and workers’ rights, if elected.

But nan 60-year-old politician could besides look questions astir his response to riots successful Minneapolis following nan 2020 execution of George Floyd and wide fraud during COVID-19 nether a national programme intended to provender kids. Audits have suggested lapses successful oversight by nan authorities Department of Education.

Walz is fond of one-liners and dada jokes that he uses to flick astatine governmental rivals. He recycles them often. He’s besides not acrophobic to look frumpy and often sports a plain T-shirt and a ballcap to much casual occasions alternatively of a suit. He talks accelerated — a denotation of being a erstwhile precocious schoolhouse shot coach — which often makes him travel complete words aliases leads to immoderate confusing run-on sentences.

The announcement comes arsenic Democrats person rallied astir Harris pursuing President Biden’s determination to extremity his reelection campaign. With Harris, who became nan charismatic statesmanlike nominee Monday evening, Democrats person seen renewed enthusiasm at rallies and pinch donors. Harris and Walz are group to statesman a circuit of battleground states, starting coming successful Philadelphia and ending Saturday successful Las Vegas.

Harris went pinch Walz complete others, including Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — a important plaything authorities Democrats will apt request to triumph nan election. In a statement, Shapiro said Harris “has my enthusiastic support — and I cognize that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally beardown summation to nan summons who will thief Kamala move our state forward.”

Republicans were already pouncing connected nan prime and tying his policies to Harris’ location authorities of California. Trump run property caput Karoline Leavitt wrote successful a statement: “Tim Walz is simply a dangerously wide extremist, and nan Harris-Walz California dream is each American’s nightmare.”

From Nebraska to Minnesota politics

Walz was calved and raised successful agrarian Nebraska and enlisted successful nan Army National Guard astatine property 17. He often points to his upbringing successful a mini community, noting that respective of his cousins were classmates.

He earned a societal subject grade from Chadron State College successful Nebraska successful 1989 funded by nan GI Bill, past spent a twelvemonth school successful China done a Harvard University speech programme earlier returning to thatch students successful his location state. He met his wife, Gwen Whipple, while teaching. The brace moved to Minnesota successful 1996 and taught astatine a precocious schoolhouse successful Mankato, Minn. Walz besides spent clip coaching shot and was an adjunct connected a authorities title winning team.

As Walz was tiptoeing into politics, he took a group of students to a run rally for then-President George W. Bush. Walz said they were asked to time off because immoderate were wearing stickers supporting Bush’s opponent, John Kerry.

“This individual says, ‘You’re not going to beryllium allowed to enter, you’ve been deemed a threat,’” Walz told Minnesota Public Radio years aft nan speech pinch a information guard. “It was a operation of being a small spot disappointment and a benignant of epiphany infinitesimal of really it felt for group to beryllium looked correct through.”

Not agelong aft that, he was making a move to tally for Congress successful a twelvemonth erstwhile Democrats were recruiting candidates pinch subject credentials.

Then-Democratic legislature campaigner Tim Walz talks pinch a teachers group during a run extremity successful Mankato, Minn., connected Oct. 25, 2006. (Craig Lassig/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After a title that focused connected nan Iraq War and authorities of nan economy, Walz upset longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht successful 2006. He represented confederate Minnesota successful Congress for much than a decade earlier announcing his bid for politician successful 2017.

Walz won nan title for politician over Republican Jeff Johnson.

Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, whom Walz defeated successful nan superior for nan Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination, worked pinch him to usher successful progressive argumentation wins astatine nan Capitol.

“I person gotten to cognize Governor Walz from a very unsocial perspective. I person heavy respect for his candidacy erstwhile he and I ran together for nan aforesaid office,” Murphy said. “He’s skilled. And he’s been a awesome governor.”

In his first term, Walz faced a divided authorities — a Democratic-led House and GOP-led Senate. He worked pinch lawmakers successful 2019 to walk a fund pinch wins for some sides — boosted spending for schools and a taxation cut.

Former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, a Republican, said he had a bully moving narration pinch Walz.

“We recovered compromises that worked good for nan authorities of Minnesota,” Gazelka said. “He did yet work together to nan taxation cuts that I was pushing and, and I agreed to money acquisition astatine levels higher than I thought we should.”

But that relationship was tested arsenic COVID-19 spread around nan world and took clasp successful Minnesota.

Aiming to curb nan dispersed of nan virus, Walz ordered schools beryllium emptied. Later, he ordered that restaurants and houses of believe unopen their doors and Minnesotans enactment location and required that look masks beryllium worn successful nationalist places.

The restrictions that were initially intended to beryllium little stretched connected and immoderate grew disappointment astir nan limitations connected their lives and Walz’s authority.

In May of 2020, Minnesota faced different infinitesimal of crisis. In an incident screened astir nan world, Minneapolis Police serviceman Derek Chauvin knelt connected George Floyd’s cervix arsenic he asked for help. Floyd died, and vexation ignited protests and riots astir nan city.

Walz called in thousands of National Guard soldiers and authorities troopers to constabulary nan Twin Cities, but not quickly capable to forestall nan burning of a constabulary precinct and looting of respective businesses.

“We cannot person nan looting and nan recklessness that went on, we cannot person it because we can’t usability arsenic a nine and I garbage to person it return distant nan attraction of nan authorities that we request to beryllium moving on,” Walz told reporters days into nan riots.

Walz and Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey publically disagreed complete who should person taken charge. Gazelka, nan erstwhile Senate mostly leader, said nan politician acted excessively late.

“I felt for illustration he froze,” Gazelka said. “And that delayed getting nan National Guard retired 3 days beyond what Mayor Frey had requested. And that’s conscionable unacceptable to not beryllium capable to grip nan situation successful a measurement that I deliberation it should person been handled.”

The timing of nan National Guard call-up is portion of nan statesmanlike title already, pinch Trump taking in installments for nan soldiers being sent successful aft his administration’s conversations pinch nan Walz administration.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota departs nan White House pinch chap Democratic governors connected July 3. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America)

Progressive wins

In 2022, Walz won reelection aft campaigning connected a committedness to protect entree to abortion services successful Minnesota aft nan rollback of Roe v. Wade. And by nan narrowest of margins, voters handed Democrats power of nan authorities legislature.

In their first twelvemonth pinch a authorities trifecta, Democrats checked disconnected each point connected their wish list: free meal and luncheon for students, legal protections for abortion and those seeking gender-affirming care, caller cleanable power mandates for inferior companies, restrictions connected guns, legalized marijuana, restoration of elector authorities to nan formerly incarcerated and paid family and aesculapian time off benefits for workers.

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht, who leads nan state’s largest teachers union, said Walz hasn’t forgotten his school roots while successful office.

“He’s been a awesome politician to activity with, you know, his grounds for investing successful nationalist education. Everything that he’s done to amended moving lives for moving families, protecting corporate bargaining,” Specht said. “He has a awesome way grounds that I deliberation would resonate crossed this country.”

Walz’s argumentation wins helped motorboat nan governor’s nationalist profile. He became chair of nan Democratic Governors Association and co-chair of nan Democratic National Convention’s Rules Committee.

Asked astir whether nan raft of Minnesota argumentation changes would make him excessively progressive a candidate, Walz joked that he was a “monster” for supporting efforts to money schoolhouse lunches and guarantee ineligible protections for those seeking abortions.

“What a monster. Kids are eating, eating and having afloat bellies truthful they tin spell study and women are making their ain wellness attraction decisions,” Walz told CNN’s State of nan Union successful precocious July. “So if that’s wherever they want to explanation me, I’m much than happy to return nan label.”

With reporting from NPR’s Deepa Shivaram and Tamara Keith