Vice President Harris Announces VP Pick, Governor Tim Walz
On Tuesday, August 6th, Vice President Harris announced that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be her running mate. In her statement, she said, "One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle-class families run deep." Since the announcement this morning, Walz has received an outpouring of support from top Democratic leaders, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Governor Walz has been a relatively dark horse in the race for Vice President but has captured the internet's attention over the last several weeks and become the clear favorite of many Democrats.
Walz was born in Nebraska and served in the Army National Guard for 24 years. After enlisting at 17 years old, he became a teacher and high school football coach and served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019. He is the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
As governor, some of Walz's political accomplishments include ensuring tuition-free meals at participating state universities, codifying abortion rights in state law, banning conversion therapy, and providing protections for gender-affirming healthcare. Walz also signed a bill last May expanding voting rights in Minnesota for an estimated 55,000 formerly incarcerated residents and approved a bill that invested $100 million in expanding rural broadband access. In June, Walz signed legislation meant to streamline permitting reviews for energy projects, reducing scrutiny for smaller wind, solar and transmission projects. At the time he said the initiative was “cutting red tape” to get clean energy projects “in motion.” He even used a razor-thin majority in the Minnesota legislature to enact a law requiring the state to produce all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040.
When he was in Congress, he served on the House Agriculture Committee and championed several nutrition priorities such as including all forms of fruits and vegetables in government feeding programs, and farm flex. He also helped draft and pass the 2008, 2014, and 2018 farm bills during his congressional tenure. He was a member of the committee's subpanel overseeing rural conservation and energy programs alongside Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA).
Potential criticism around Walz includes his liberal stances on social issues, his handling of the George Floyd protests in 2020 following Floyd's murder by police, and his shifting stance on gun control. However, he has gained widespread internet support from many Kamala Harris supporters over the last few weeks for his Midwestern charm and his now-iconic messaging about JD Vance, Trump's Vice President pick, as "weird." Walz also has support from his political colleagues. Former US Senator Heidi Heitkamp said, "There's an inauthenticity about JD Vance that is the antithesis of what Tim Walz is." Tim Ryan, former Democratic Congressman from Ohio, said, "He's a guy that I think we need to mimic, whether he's the VP or not. He's kind of the North Star for us."
The announcement continues a strong few weeks for Vice President Harris following her declaration that she would be running for President. She and Walz will now begin a swing state campaign trip starting in Pennsylvania and then moving on to Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. She will also visit Nevada and North Carolina over the next several days.