Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has chosen Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate, according to multiple people briefed on the matter, elevating a former football coach whose rural roots, liberal policies and buzzy takedowns of former President Donald Trump have recently put him on the map.
Walz is in his second term as governor and spent 12 years in Congress, where he was the rare Midwestern Democrat representing a largely rural district.
Walz is in his second term as governor and spent 12 years in Congress, where he was the rare Midwestern Democrat representing a largely rural district. He served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and taught high school social studies before entering politics. But his dual identity was part of what appealed to Harris, who came up through liberal Bay Area politics and prioritized in her search for a running mate the appearance of political balance that might help her win swing voters. Every one of Harris’ finalists for the job, including Walz, was a white man who had some record of winning in Republican areas.
Walz was born and raised in rural Nebraska, and as a young man moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught high school social studies and coached the school’s football team to a state championship. He retired from the Army National Guard in 2005 when he began his first run for public office.In August 2004, he chaperoned some of his students to a campaign rally in Mankato for President George W. Bush.
“One of my favorite things is when I’m in Minnesota and someone will come up to me and say, ‘I had Coach Walz for geography’ or ‘He changed my life and his classroom was a safe space for me as a queer student,’” said Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, who was a volunteer for Walz’s 2006 congressional race. “That is how he ran his campaign.”
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