Kamala Harris has chosen progressive Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate to take on Donald Trump and JD Vance after weeks of speculation and a bitter feud between the 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 party’s progressive left who were concerned about some of the other contenders’ support for Israel.
In Minnesota, he has codified abortion rights, signed into law universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and granted voting rights to former prisoners.
The former professor is also credited with being the Democrat who started calling Republicans “weird,” a fad that has dominated the campaign since Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Walz made Minnesota a haven for LGBTQ Americans and also supported making the North Star State the 13th “sanctuary” state for undocumented immigrants.
Harris announced her decision after a closely-watched vice presidential election in the two weeks after she took over Biden’s campaign.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly were among three finalists, along with Walz, to challenge Harris on the Democratic ticket in November.
Kamala Harris has chosen progressive Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate after weeks of speculation
Both are expected to be officially nominated as presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Democratic National Convention, which begins August 19 in Chicago.
Harris garnered enough support from delegates just two days after Biden announced he was ending his reelection bid.
Walz will now join Harris on Tuesday night for their first tandem campaign stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The two will then head to the other six key states for a five-day campaign this week across Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona.
After growing up in a small town in Nebraska, he began teaching. He first went to China and then moved to teach in Nebraska and Minnesota.
At Makato, he taught geography and was the first faculty advisor for the school’s first gay-straight alliance, established 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, is a big fan of Diet Mountain Dew, and was arrested for drunk driving in Nebraska in 1995 before he quit drinking.
Her children were conceived through IVF and fertility treatments, an aspect of her story that can be used to attack Republicans on reproductive rights.
According to the Star TribuneWalz rides in the passenger seat during official duties because he gets carsick in the back seat.
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 Minnesota governor 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 the ranking Democratic member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee during his final term before taking up residence in the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion in Saint Paul.
Governor Walz takes a selfie with his wife Gwen and their children Hope and Gus. Both were conceived through IVF and fertility treatment.
Governor Walz greets Vice President Kamala Harris at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14, 2024
Walz is campaigning with his wife Gwena and daughter Hope. He doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee, but is a big fan of the diet drink Mountain Dew.
Walz is pictured with his wife Gwen (center) and children Hope (center right) and Gus (center left) as he is sworn in as governor of Minnesota 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 secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the presumptive nominee.
In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, there was a flurry of speculation about others being considered for Harris’s vice presidential pick, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
On Monday afternoon, reports emerged that Harris narrowed her decision to Shapiro and Walz.
Some thought that choosing a running mate from a key state would benefit Harris, such as Shapiro of Pennsylvania or Senator Kelly of Arizona.
In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, there was a flurry of speculation about others being considered for Harris’s vice presidential pick, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
But Walz’s home state of Minnesota is already solidly blue, voting for 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 abortion rights, signed into law universal free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and granted voting rights to former prisoners.
Governor Walz and his wife Gwen greet Biden in Northfield, Minnesota, on November 1, 2023.
Minnesota voted for Hillary Clinton with 1.5 percent against Donald Trump and four years later widened the proportion between blue and red by voting for Biden with 7.1 percent against the former president.
The state is considered to be “leaning Democratic” for the 2024 election, according to the Cook Political Report.
On Monday afternoon, reports emerged that Harris narrowed her decision to Shapiro and Walz.