Harris taps Gov. Tim Walz for running mate

Kamala Harris named her running mate in the 2024 presidential election Tuesday morning as her campaign sprints toward the Nov. 5 election. 

Tim Walz, the current Minnesota governor, appeared at a fundraiser for Harris on Monday night but was not announced as her pick until Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Harris reportedly received the Democratic Party’s formal nomination as its candidate for president in 2024.

Who is Tim Walz? Walz, 60, is a Democratic governor of a state that has turned from blue to purple since 2016. He represented Minnesota’s 1st congressional district from 2007-2019 and is a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party. Before running for Congress, he was a high school social studies teacher for the Mankato Area Public Schools southwest of Minneapolis and served in the Army National Guard. When he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, he defeated a six-term Republican incumbent. He went on to win reelection five times himself before running for the open governor’s seat in 2017. In his second term as governor, Walz focused mostly on agriculture issues and gun reforms. Walz said he changed his position on gun control after rising rates of school shootings. In 2023, he signed a law that established universal background checks and red flag laws in Minnesota.

What does he do for the ticket? Walz enjoys broad support from Democrats, young voters, and older socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. With a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood, he also falls in line with Harris’ pro-abortion platform. Last year, he signed legislation enshrining abortion and transgender medical procedures into state law.

But Walz could also add balance to Harris’ far-left leanings. He could be seen as a relatable Midwest dad—he has posted social media videos about how to fix cars and advocated for safe driving laws with his teenage daughter. While Harris is criticized for coming from California with liberal, coastal city politics, Walz could be portrayed as working-class. He received an endorsement for vice president from United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain.