MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has decided that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be her running mate in her bid for the White House.
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The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran stood out with a series of candid TV appearances in the days following President Joe Biden's decision not to seek a second term.
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It has turned its state into a bastion of liberal politics, and this year, it was one of the few states that protects fans who purchase tickets online for Taylor Swift concerts and other live events.
Some things you need to know about Walz:
WALZ COMES FROM RURAL AMERICA
It would be hard to find a more vivid representative of the heart of America than Walz. Born in West Point, Nebraska, a community of about 3,500 people northwest of Omaha, Walz joined the Army National Guard and became a teacher in Nebraska.
He and his wife moved to Mankato, in southern Minnesota, in the 1990s. There, he taught social studies and coached soccer at Mankato West High School, including the team that won the first of the school's four state championships in 1999. He still mentions his union affiliation there.
Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring from a field artillery battalion in 2005 as a Command Sergeant Major, one of the highest military ranks.
CONNECT WITH CONSERVATIVE VOTERS
In his first run for Congress, Walz defeated an incumbent Republican. That was in 2006, when he won in a predominantly rural congressional district in southern Minnesota against six-term congressman Gil Gutknecht. Walz capitalized on voters' anger against then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
During six terms in the House of Representatives, Walz advocated for veterans' causes.
He has also shown that he has his feet on the ground, through the videos he shares on social media with his daughter, Hope. Last fall, one of those videos showed them trying out a ride at the Minnesota State Fair, "The Slingshot," after a playful conversation about fair food and the fact that she is a vegetarian.
COULD YOU HELP WITH THE BALLOT IN KEY STATES OF THE CENTRAL-NORTHERN REGION
While Walz does not come from one of the crucial "blue wall" states - Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - where both parties believe they need to win, he is right next door. He could also ensure that Minnesota remains in the hands of the Democrats.
This is important because former President Donald Trump has portrayed Minnesota as a state in play this year, even though no Republican has won a statewide office here since 2006. The last Republican presidential candidate to win in the state was Richard Nixon in 1972.
When Democratic governor Mark Dayton decided not to seek a third term in 2018, Walz campaigned and won the position with the slogan "One Minnesota."
Walz, in addition, speaks comfortably about topics that matter to voters in the "Rust Belt," the country's declining industrial strip. He has been an advocate for Democratic causes, including labor organization, workers' rights, and a $15 per hour minimum wage.
HE/SHE HAS EXPERIENCE WITH A DIVIDED GOVERNMENT
In his first term as governor, Walz faced a Legislature divided between a House of Representatives led by Democrats and a Senate controlled by Republicans who resisted his proposals to use higher taxes to increase funding for schools, healthcare, and roads. However, he and the legislators negotiated compromises that made the state's divided government appear productive.
Bipartisan cooperation became more difficult in his second year, when he used the governor's emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic to close businesses and schools. Republicans retaliated and forced the removal of some agency directors, and they still criticize Walz for what they consider his slow response to the sometimes violent unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
Things were easier for Walz in his second term, after defeating Republican Scott Jensen, a nationally known doctor who was skeptical of vaccines. Democrats gained control of both legislative chambers, paving the way for a more liberal direction in state government, aided by a huge budget surplus.
Walz and legislators repealed almost all state abortion restrictions previously enacted by Republicans, protected gender affirmation care for transgender youth, and legalized recreational marijuana use.
After rejecting Republican pleas to use the state budget surplus to cut taxes, the Democrats funded free school meals for children, free tuition at public universities for students from families earning less than $80,000 a year, a paid family and medical leave program, and health insurance coverage regardless of a person's immigration status.
IT IS SKILLED IN HEADLINE PHRASE POLITICS
Walz described Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance as "simply strange" in an interview with MSNBC last month, and the Democratic Governors Association —which Walz chairs— amplified the point in a post on the social network X. Walz later reiterated the characterization on CNN, citing Trump's repeated mentions of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the movie "The Silence of the Lambs" in his campaign speeches.
The phrase quickly became a topic for Harris and other Democrats, and has the potential to become a slogan for the undoubtedly strange 2024 election.