US Election: Meet Kamala Harris Running Mate, Tim Walz And What You Should Know About Him

Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former school teacher and member of Congress, as her vice-presidential nominee.

The two-term Democratic governor was tapped by U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris to be her presidential campaign running mate on Tuesday, ending an accelerated search for a vice-presidential candidate as the race to the White House heats up.

He is viewed as somebody who can win over rural and working-class voters, particularly in crucial Midwestern US states.

The choice of Walz, 60, came after he quickly emerged as a leading messenger for Democrats, portraying liberal policy positions in a common-sense manner that may appeal to Midwestern voters whose support Harris needs to win the presidency.

Mr. Walz will appear with Ms. Harris later on Tuesday at a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before the pair begin a five-day tour of other key battleground states.

They will also speak at the Democratic National Convention later this month, from 19 to 22 August in Chicago, when the Harris-Walz ticket will be made formal.

US Election: Meet Kamala Harris Running Mate, Tim Walz And What You Should Know About Him

Below are a few things to know about Tim Walz:

• He’s also credited as the first to label Republican candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance as “weird,” which has caught fire among the Harris campaign and Democrats in general.
• “He’s a pretty safe choice,” said Matthew Lebo, a political science professor at Western University who studies American politics.
• “He’s very down to earth and can explain liberal values and what the government’s priorities should be in a way that talks about the social safety net and helping people build their lives, as opposed to ‘we’re taxing you more.’”
• Walz’s state also shares a 885-kilometer border with Canada — and a trade economy worth billions of dollars every year.
• Walz was born in West Point, Neb., a community of about 3,500 people northwest of Omaha. Walz joined the Army National Guard and became a teacher in Nebraska.
• He and his wife Gwen moved to Mankato in southern Minnesota in the 1990s, where he continued his teaching career and coached high school football.
• Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring from a field artillery battalion in 2005 as a command sergeant major, one of the military’s highest enlisted ranks.
• He entered politics in 2006 by defeating a six-term Republican incumbent, Gil Gutknecht, for a seat in the U.S. Congress, first displaying his ability to connect with conservative voters. He also capitalized on anger towards then-president George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
• During his own six terms in the House of Representatives, Walz became known as a champion of veterans issues. He won praise for helping to reach a bipartisan consensus for veterans’ health and education benefits during Trump’s divisive term.
• When he successfully ran for the Minnesota governorship in 2018, he portrayed Democratic ideals like union organizing, workers’ rights, and a higher minimum wage in ways that appealed to rural middle-class voters who otherwise vote Republican.
• “He’s a hunter but understands the sense of gun laws. He is liberal in terms of a wider social safety net.”
• As governor, Walz has sought to further deepen economic ties with Canada, which is the state’s largest trading partner by far.
• In June, Walz traveled to Canada with an economic and agricultural delegation that sought to promote their state as a trade and investment destination. Canada and Minnesota each have more than 60 companies operating within each other’s borders, employing thousands of local workers.
• Walz met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Queen’s Park during the trip, and Ford highlighted the “billions of dollars in two-way trade” between their economies and the need to “protect and grow” those ties.