Kamala Harris picked Minnesota’s progressive governor Tim Walz as her running mate to take on Donald Trump and J.D. Vance after weeks of speculation and a bitter fight between candidates.
The 60-year-old father-of-two, who has been married to his teacher wife Gwen since 1994, joins the ticket in a victory for the far left of the party who were concerned about some of the other contenders’ support of Israel.
In Minnesota Walz has codified the right to abortion, signed universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and gave voting rights to former prisoners.
The former teacher is also credited with being the Democrat who started calling Republicans ‘weird’, a craze that has dominated the campaign since Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month.
Walz turned the North Star State into a refuge for LGBTQ Americans and has also backed making Minnesota the 13th ‘sanctuary’ state for undocumented migrants.
Harris announced her decision after a hotly-watched veepstakes in the two weeks after taking over Biden’s campaign.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly were in the final three with Walz to run with Harris on November’s Democratic ticket.
Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota ‘s progressive governor Tim Walz as her running mate after weeks of speculation
The two are expected to be officially nominated as the president and vice presidential nominees at the Democratic National Convention Starting August 19 in Chicago.
Harris earned enough support from delegates just two days after Biden announced he was ending his reelection bid.
Now Walz will join Harris on Tuesday night for their first tandem campaign stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Harris and Walz will head to the six other swing states for a five-day campaign blitz this week through Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona.
After growing up in a small Nebraska town he started teaching. First he went to China before moving to classrooms in Nebraska and Minnesota.
In Makato he taught geography and was the first faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance, set up in 1999.
He also coached the school’s football team.
Walz and his wife Gwen have two children together – Hope, who recently graduated from college in Montana, and Gus, who is in public high school in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee, he is a huge fan of Diet Mountain Dew and was arrested for DWI in Nebraska in 1995, before he quit drinking.
Their children were conceived by IVF and fertility treatments, a side of his story that can be used to attack Republicans on reproductive rights.
According to the Star Tribune, Walz rides in the passenger seat on official duties because he gets carsick in the back.
He is also a runner, served in the Army National Guard and has hundreds of challenge coins he has collected in his office.
Walz became governor of Minnesota in 2019 after serving six terms in the House of Representatives for the state’s 1st congressional district, which encompasses its entire southern border.
He served as Democratic ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee for his final term before taking residence in the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion in Saint Paul.
Gov. Walz takes a selfie with wife Gwen and their children Hope and Gus. They were both conceived through IVF and fertility treatment
Gov. Walz greets Vice President Kamala Harris at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota on March 14, 2024
Walz campaigns with his wife Gwena and daughter Hope. He doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee, he is a huge fan of Diet Mountain Dew
Walz is pictured with wife Gwen (center) and his children Hope (center right) and Gus (center left) as he is sworn in as Minnesota’s governor in Saint Paul, Minnesota on January 7, 2019
Vice President Kamala Harris took over Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign after the president ended his reelection bid and a few days later earned support from enough Democratic delegates to became the presumed nominee
Along with Shapiro and Kelly, there was a slew of speculation about others being considered for Harris’ VP pick, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
On Monday afternoon, reporting emerged that Harris narrowed her decision to Shapiro and Walz.
Some thought picking a running mate from a swing state would benefit Harris – like Shapiro from Pennsylvania or Arizona’s Sen. Kelly.
But many leftists were worried that Shapiro, who is Jewish, would be too pro-Israel and Democrats were concerned it would re-spark controversial conversations about Gaza and hurt Harris’ campaign.
Along with Shapiro and Kelly, there was a slew of speculation about others being considered for Harris’ VP pick, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
But Walz’s state of Minnesota is already solidly blue and voted for the Democratic candidates in 2016 and 2020.
Walz is also a runner, served in the Army National Guard and has hundreds of challenge coins he has collected in his office
In Minnesota he has codified the right to abortion, signed universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and gave voting rights to former prisoners
Gov. Walz and his wife Gwen greeted Biden in Northfield, Minnesota on Nov. 1, 2023
Minnesota voted for Hillary Clinton 1.5 percent over Donald Trump and four years later widened the blue to red ratio by voting 7.1 percent for Biden over the former president.
The state is considered to be a ‘lean Democrat’ for the 2024 election, according to Cook Political Report.
On Monday afternoon, reporting emerged that Harris narrowed her decision to Shapiro and Walz.
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