19 Things to Know About Tim Walz, Harris’s Vice Presidential Candidate
Tim Walz
The governor of Minnesota, Mr. Tim Walz, coached football and taught social studies in high school. He also served in the Army National Guard and prefers Diet Mountain Dew to alcohol.
Even among Democrats, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was essentially unknown outside of the Midwest until lately. However, in the days following President Biden’s withdrawal from the contest, his stock quickly increased, making way for Ms. Harris to take his position and select Mr. Walz as her second choice.
Here is a closer look at the new vice presidential nominee from the Democrats.
1. He is the (recent) darling of social media.
Online commenters have been overwhelmingly supportive of Mr. Walz, praising his charming ordinariness and Midwestern “dad vibes.”
2. It was all his doing to make things “weird.”
Just a few weeks ago, on cable television, Mr. Walz called former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, “weird.” The description quickly turned into a talking point for Democrats.
3. He signed the measure in purple ink and christened a roadway in Prince’s honor.
As he dedicated a portion of Highway 5 to the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway, he said, “I think we can lay to rest that this is the coolest bill signing we’ll ever do.
4. There’s a reason he makes you think of your history teacher in high school.
Before going into politics, Mr. Walz worked as a high school social studies and geography teacher in Alliance, Nebraska, and Mankato, Minnesota.
5. He has some Mandarin and worked as a teacher in China in 1989.
After graduating from college, he spent a year teaching English in China as part of a Harvard University-affiliated program.
6. He has military experience.
Twenty-four years after he entered in the Army National Guard as a youngster, Mr. Walz retired in 2005. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he traveled to Italy in 2003–2004. He was awarded two Army Achievement Medals and the Army Commendation Medal for his distinguished service.
7. He was a Democrat from the rural Midwest, an uncommon breed in Congress.
Mr. Walz served as the southern representative for the First District of Minnesota for almost ten years. He voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act, opposed limiting federal funding for abortion, and supported financing for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
8. He was born in Nebraska.
He was raised in Valentine, Nebraska, went to high school in Butte, Nebraska, and graduated from Chadron State College before heading to Minnesota State University, Mankato, to pursue a master’s degree in experiential teaching.
9. After being turned away from a George W. Bush event, he entered politics.
While still an educator, he went to the rally with his pupils in 2004 and voiced his displeasure when they were told they couldn’t enter because they had volunteered for the Democrats.
10. His deputy governor is currently the same woman who taught him how to run for government.
Before defeating a Republican incumbent to gain his House seat in 2006, Mr. Walz attended Camp Wellstone, a Democratic political training camp named for former Senator Paul Wellstone. There worked Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan as a trainer.
11. He was among the first to advocate for LGBT rights.
He supported a gay-straight alliance at Minnesota‘s Mankato West High School in the 1990s, and he has stated that it was crucial for the sponsor to be “the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married” at that time. In a conservative area, he ran on a platform of supporting same-sex marriage and won a House seat in 2006.
12. His political stance on other matters has changed.
During his tenure in the House, he was more moderate than many Democrats, endorsing the National Rifle Association and voting in favor of more stringent refugee screening. When he ran for governor in 2018, he made a dramatic shift to the left regarding guns and other issues, and together with Minnesota’s Democratic legislature, they passed a comprehensive progressive agenda.
13. He owns a gun and goes turkey and pheasant hunting.
He established the “Governor’s Turkey Hunting Opener” to begin Minnesota’s turkey hunting season, and he hosts an identical event to begin the pheasant hunting season. Regarding Mr. Vance, he declared on CNN, “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can.”
14. He would represent Minnesota as the third vice president.
The first two were Walter Mondale, under President Jimmy Carter, and Hubert Humphrey, under President Lyndon B. Johnson.
15. Through in vitro fertilization, he and his spouse became parents to their two children.
They underwent seven years of infertility treatments before giving birth to their daughter, Hope. After the I.V.F. treatment there was overturned by an Alabama Supreme Court ruling this year, Mr. Walz publicly discussed the incident.
16. He was the coach of the 1999 state football winners.
It was Mankato West High School’s first-ever state championship.
17. His faith is Lutheran.
He occasionally identifies as a “Minnesota Lutheran,” to be more precise. During a speech this spring, Walz made a joke about how “if you do something good and talk about it, it no longer counts because we’re good Minnesota Lutherans.” Thus, your task is to get someone else to speak about you.
18. Following a DWI in 1995, he no longer drinks.
Mr. Walz claims that he gave up alcohol consumption after failing a sobriety test and getting pulled over for speeding in 1995. At the moment, his wife admonished him, “You have responsibilities to people.” You cannot make poor decisions.
19. He doesn’t sip coffee either.
His favorite is Mountain Dew Diet. Likewise, his counterpart who is Republican.
