The Tim Walz Cheat Sheet: 10 Key Facts About Harris’s VP Selection
**The Tim Walz Cheat Sheet: 10 Key Facts About Kamala Harris’s VP Pick**
In the search for a running mate to challenge Donald Trump and JD Vance, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz emerged from relative obscurity to become a top contender. Here’s what you need to know about him:
1. **He Embodies ‘Minnesota Nice’**
Known for its politeness and friendliness, ‘Minnesota nice’ also reflects a tendency for self-deprecation and passive-aggressive behavior. Tim Walz, 60, though born in Nebraska, has adopted this demeanor, making him well-liked in office. His amiable personality has even enhanced the impact of his political critiques, such as when he branded Trump and Vance as “weird,” a strategy that helped propel him into the VP conversation.
2. **He’s More Than Just ‘Minnesota Nice’**
Walz’s background as a high school football coach shows a different side. Known for encouraging aggression and strategy, he turned around a struggling team at Mankato West High School, leading them to state championship status after they had lost 27 games consecutively.
3. **He Served in the National Guard**
Walz’s 24-year career in the National Guard, first in Nebraska and then Minnesota, began as an infantryman at 17, inspired by his father, a Korean War veteran. He funded his college education with the GI Bill and re-enlisted post-9/11, serving in various capacities, including during natural disasters and in support of operations in Afghanistan. He retired as a command sergeant major in 2005, making him the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever elected to Congress.
4. **He’s Experienced in Election Wins**
Before his political career, Walz was a high school social studies teacher and LGBTQ+ student adviser. His political journey began in 2006 when he won a Congressional seat in a rural area by defeating a Republican incumbent. He was re-elected for six terms and later won the Minnesota governor’s race in 2018 by 11 points. His first term included navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, managing the response to George Floyd's murder, and handling the resultant riots and protests. Walz secured re-election in 2022 against Scott Jensen.
**He’s Popular with Progressives**
After defeating Jensen, Walz addressed Minnesotans, celebrating their choice to reject negative, divisive politics in favor of collective progress. Progressive supporters have highlighted Walz’s achievements, praising his record on key issues. NextGen Pac, a youth-led organization, noted his significant legislative accomplishments, including protections for rights, climate justice, and economic improvements for everyday people. His tenure saw the enshrinement of abortion rights, the establishment of paid sick and family leave, the enactment of a leading child tax credit, and the signing of 40 climate initiatives into law.
Walz has also made strides in gun control reform. Despite initially receiving NRA endorsements, he shifted his stance, supported by his daughter’s advocacy, to endorse an assault weapons ban following a series of school shootings.
**He’s a Target for Republicans**
The news of Walz being selected as Harris’s running mate was met with predictable backlash from the right. The Republican National Committee labeled him a “far-left radical” and criticized him for his positions on border security, universal healthcare, taxation, and abortion and voting rights. They accused him of being “extremely woke,” a “climate radical” intent on phasing out fossil fuels, and “soft on crime.”
**He’s a Family Man**
Tim Walz’s wife, Gwen Walz, shares his passion for education, working as a public school teacher and advocating for educational reform, particularly for improving education in prisons to reduce recidivism. Gwen, along with Tim, is also a mother to two children, Hope, 23, and Gus, 17. Their children were conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process currently threatened by Republican and right-wing Christian efforts to restrict reproductive rights. During his state of the state address in March, Walz spoke candidly about the challenges of infertility, saying, “If you have never personally gone through the hell of infertility, I guarantee you someone you know has.”
Walz’s children have often joined him in public appearances. At the Minnesota State Fair last year, he humorously offered Hope, a vegetarian, a turkey corn dog. “Turkey is meat,” she pointed out.
“Not in Minnesota,” Walz replied. “Turkey’s special.”
**He Knows a Bit About China**
Walz’s knowledge of China stems from his time teaching there through a Harvard program in 1989, coinciding with the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent government crackdown. During this year, he also learned some Mandarin. Additionally, he and Gwen spent their honeymoon in China in 1994, organizing a trip for students, a tradition they continued until 2003.
**He Doesn’t Drink**
In September 1995, Walz was stopped for driving 96 mph in a 55 mph zone. After failing a sobriety test, he was convicted of reckless driving and fined $200. Walz has since acknowledged the incident and stopped drinking. His current favorite drink is Diet Mountain Dew, which also happens to be the preference of JD Vance, the Republican VP pick.
**His Name Can Be Confusing**
There’s some confusion about how to pronounce Walz’s name. Is it “Waltz” like the dance, “Walls” like the structures, or “Wal-tz” as in Walmart? In fact, it’s pronounced “Waalls,” similar to “Walls” but with a slightly elongated “a.”
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