On the 6th of August 2024, after much speculation, Kamala Harris announced that her running mate for the 2024 Presidential Election will be Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
So who is Walz, what is is position on the contentious issues facing America and how does he compare to Trump pick J.D Vance?
Walz Background
Tim Walz was born in 1964 in West Point Nebraska to a “homemaker” mother and public school administrator father[1]Wikipedia: Tim Walz.
Walz attended Chadron State College in Nebraska, earning a Bachelor of Science in social science 1989. Later, in 2001 he earned a Masters in educational leadership from Minnesota State University.
After graduating from Chadron, Walz took a teaching job for an NGO in China and then returned to Nebraska to teach there. In 1994 Walz married Minnesota native Gwen Whipple and in 1996 they moved to her home state where Walz began teaching geography and coaching football at Mankato West High School, helping the football team to it’s first state championship in 1999[2]Wikipedia: Tim Walz.
Whilst at Makato high, Walz also agreed to become the faculty advisor of the first gay-straight alliance as well during a time when it wasn’t socially acceptable to be “out and proud”[3]BBC News: The ex-football coach and teacher – now Harris’s VP pick.
From 1981 Walz was enlisted in the National Guard, working in disaster response and had postings across the US and Europe, finally retiring with the rank of master sergeant in 2005.
In 2004, Walz volunteered for John Kerry’s presidential campaign and then announced his candidacy for congress in 2006, winning in November the same year representing the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
In his first month in congress Walz was appointed to a number of committees including Veteran affairs, Agriculture and Transportation & Infrastructure.
He has voted for a number of “liberal” bills such as increasing minimum wages, against restricting federal abortion services and the affordable care act (also known as Obamacare).
Walz was re-elected in his district an impressive 6 times, the last being in 2016, even though it was a predominantly Republican area he then announced his gubernatorial bid in 2018 which he easily won and he was sworn in in 2019.
After George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Walz was criticized for his lacklustre response. He swiftly responded by helping to force through police reform bills which included limiting the use of choke holds and training police in how to deal with people with mental health issues, autism and how to de-escalate situations.
Walz also presided over several major legislature reforms such as paid leave, banning non-competes and codifying abortion rights into state law[4]NBC News: Minnesota governor signs broad abortion rights bill into law.
Walz is also credited with coining the term “Weird” when referring to Donald Trump and his V.P pick J.D Vance[5]CNN: This Democratic governor started calling Trump, Vance ‘weird.’ Hear why which the Harris campaign picked up on and is now using as a large talking point in their campaign.
What Happens Next For Minnesota
It’s unlikely that Walz will step down as governor until the election results are known as he still has 2 years of his term left to run. If the Harris/Walz team win the election Walz will step down and be replaced by his deputy Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan and that would make her the first female governor in Minnesota history and, perhaps more importantly, the first Native American woman to hold the position of governor[6]MPRNews: Gov. Tim Walz is Kamala Harris’ running mate. What happens now in Minnesota politics?.
A Match Made In Heaven?
Given Walz’s liberal political beliefs, he seems to be a perfect running mate for Harris. The two of them agree on most issues and, importantly, Walz signing abortion rights into law will be a big bonus with voters as 63% think abortion access should be legal in some or most cases[7]Pew Research Centre: Broad Public Support for Legal Abortion Persists 2 Years After Dobbs.
He’s also very pro-voting rights having signed automatic voter registration into law in Minnesota, something else that is bound to go over well with the majority of voters[8]The New York Times: Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues.
And Walz hasn’t been holding back since his nomination was announced saying that he’ll happily debate J.D Vance if he will “get off the couch[9]Variety: Tim Walz Says He Looks Forward to Debating JD Vance If He’ll ‘Get Off the Couch’” – I think things are going to start getting a little spicy in the election now!
Katy is the editor-in-chief of FlippingHeck.com a blog about Self-Improvement, Productivity and Small Business Tips. When she’s not working, she enjoys gaming, making music and Reviewing Things.
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