Kamala Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Democratic running mate

Second-term governor from the North Star State picked as vice presidental candidate

(MN.gov)

Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate as she stares down a November contest against Republican Donald Trump.

Walz, 60, was once considered a dark horse candidate to nab the position as conversations around higher-profile candidates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly dominated the chatter in the early weeks of the Democrats’ veepstakes.

But Walz saw his star rise precipitously over the last several days, after a series of television interviews that went viral in Democratic political circles. When reports surfaced that the choice was down to Walz and Shapiro, Walz earned the favor over his gubernatorial counterpart. He was seen as a safer pick for the base of the party, particularly given Shapiro’s — who is Jewish — previous public stands as staunchly pro-Israel. Walz also help Harris electorally lock up Minnesota, a state that Republicans have not won in a presidential contest in decades but has been a target of Trump’s across his two most recent campaigns.

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Walz is no stranger to being a dark horse. The military veteran won his first term in Congress representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District in 2006, beating Republican incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht. While that election cycle was a good year for Democrats, Walz’s victory was surprising to some observers. The district, which is in southern Minnesota, leans Republican and borders South Dakota and Iowa. While there, Walz earned plaudits from gun advocacy groups like the NRA, which donated to his campaign and gave him an A rating on their scorecard. Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners in 2016.

Walz survived successive elections in Congress, by continuing to fashion himself as a moderate Democrat. He survived the 2010 Republican wave election that cost dozens of Democrats their seats, including South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Sandlin lost to now Gov. Kristi Noem.

Both Walz and Noem were elected their states’ governors in 2018. Their leadership choices were on stark display during the 2020 Covid pandemic: Walz issued some of the harshest lockdown measures in the country — joining his Democratic counterparts — while Noem took the lightest touch of any state with state mandates.

The two rival representatives and then governors have enjoyed a spirited public rivalry. On word coming out that Walz was Harris’ nominee, Noem took to social media to describe him as a “radical” left winger.

“I served with him in Congress,” Noem said. “He pretended to be moderate, then showed his true extremist colors as soon as he became Governor. South Dakota has been kicking Minnesota’s butt economically for years. Last year, nearly 7,000 Minnesotans moved to South Dakota because Walz took his people’s Freedom away. Harris-Walz will be the most radical left-wing ticket in American history.”

Though Walz career in Washington was characterized by a more moderate approach, the Mankato native’s time as the state’s chief executive has been much different. With just a one seat majority in his state Senate, Walz has championed key liberal reforms like recreational cannabis legalization, protecting access to gender transition therapy for minors, access to abortion through all three trimesters of pregnancy, and free lunches in public schools. Walz also presided over the response to the 2020 riots that started in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd - who was killed by a city police officer.

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A spokesman for Walz did not immediately reply to a request for comment responding to the news of his candidacy.

Walz, 60, is a former educator and high school football coach who retired from the Army National Guard as a Master Sergeant.