On Tuesday morning, in the United States, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced that her running mate for the vice presidency will be Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota.
“I am proud to announce that I have invited Tim Walz to be my running mate,” Harris posted on X platform.
“As a governor, coach, teacher, and veteran, he has made contributions to working families like his,” she wrote.
“I am thrilled to have him join the team. Let’s get to work now,” Harris continued.
Harris and Walz are set to make their first public appearance together on Tuesday evening at a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia. This event will kick off a five-day, seven-city battleground tour for the two.
Tim Walz, 60, is the 41st Governor of Minnesota. He was first elected as governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022.
Walz was born in a small town in rural Nebraska where his parents instilled in him values of public service, generosity to neighbors, and working towards the common good. He attended Chadron State College, graduating in 1989 with a degree in social science.
After teaching abroad for a year, Walz returned to serve full-time in the Army National Guard, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major in 2005. He then pursued a career as a high school teacher and football coach.
In 2006, Walz won his first election to the U.S. House of Representatives and served five terms as a congressman for the state’s first congressional district in southern Minnesota.
In recent weeks, he has been actively campaigning for Kamala Harris. As a former congressman from a Republican-leaning district, Walz aims to appeal to rural white voters, while also advocating for progressive policies as governor, such as free school meals and expanding paid leave for workers.
Walz’s appeal also lies in coming from a Midwest state, which has caught the attention of Trump who has increasingly focused on the state. Although Biden won Minnesota by a 7-point margin in 2020 and no Republican had won the state in over fifty years, Trump and his running mate Vans have ramped up their campaigning in the state.
According to the Associated Press, Harris chose Walz due to him being a Midwest governor, a military veteran, and a supporter of unions. Walz has helped formulate ambitious Democratic agendas for the state, including comprehensive abortion rights and generous assistance to families.
Additionally, while Minnesota is a solidly Democratic state, it is close to key battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Associated Press reported that Democratic strategist in Minnesota, Amara, said of Walz: “He has the ability to connect with voters in rural, suburban, and urban areas.”
During the battleground state campaign events, Harris and Walz will visit seven cities in five days: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Durham, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to Harris’s campaign officials, rallies will be held in each of the seven cities, at locations including university campuses, historically black colleges, union halls, and restaurants.
Last weekend, Harris’s campaign team launched a program to persuade Republican voters to support the Democratic Party, with support from former Trump White House officials Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye.
The program, called “Republicans for Harris,” will hold events in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona this week.