Prior to the abrupt Veepstakes after Joe Biden ended his quest for a second term, the name Tim Walz was not widely known. Several Democratic Governors had larger-than-life names, like Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, and Roy Cooper. Walz, however, stole the spotlight from other VP-hopefuls in a fateful interview where he called JD Vance and other Republicans “weird” live on Morning Joe. So, who is he, and what does he bring to the ticket? Read on to find out.

Where Did He Come From?

As their introductory rally ends, it makes sense to get to know who he is. Tim Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska in 1964. Prior to attending college, Walz served in the National Guard, and to date has served in both Nebraska’s and Minnesota’s branches of the National Guard, attaining the rank of Command Sergeant Major. After graduating college and meeting his wife, Walz moved to Minnesota, and began teaching social studies, and taking over defensive coordinator duties, in Mankato, a small city in south-central Minnesota’s Blue Earth County. 

Walz’s first attempt at running for office was a huge success. Mankato was situated, at the time, in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional district. The seat stretched from the Mississippi River and Wisconsin border to the east, and touched South Dakota in the west, while sitting along Iowa’s northern border. The largest city in the district was Rochester, but other notable cities and towns in the district include Winona, Northfield, St. Peter, and Austin. Notably, there is a significant amount of rural turf, which, at the time, helped to make it a very competitive seat, which Walz sought to use to his advantage.

In 2006, a Democratic wave year, Walz unseated Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht by a 5.5 point margin in a district that John Kerry had lost during the previous Presidential cycle. Barack Obama would flip the seat Presidentially in 2008 and 2012, but the seat would return to voting for Republicans, and went for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Walz’s margins of victory fluctuated between his first race and last race (2006 to 2016), but he held on in Republican wave years, like 2010 and 2014, when many of his colleagues in comparatively safer seats weren’t so lucky. Furthermore, in four of his five races for the seat, he out-performed the state’s partisan lean. His last race in 2016 saw him narrowly win re-election, with his district clocking in at 3 points more Republican than the Democratic vote share in the state across all 8 districts. Walz’s ability to shine in an environment like this isn't the only reason Kamala Harris tapped him to be her running mate, but, at the same time, it can't be overlooked.

In 2018, Walz ventured into the Democratic Gubernatorial primary, facing off against then Attorney General Lori Swanson and current Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy. Walz ultimately won with around 42% of the vote, mainly thanks to his strong margins in his home turf of south-central Minnesota. Walz chose Peggy Flanagan, a Native American State Rep. to be his LG nominee, and the duo went onto face the ticket of former State Rep. Jeff Johnson and US marine Donna Bergstrom. Walz and Flanagan went onto win the election by an eleven-and-a-half point margin, even managing to carry Walz’s then right-trending former district, in addition to the four districts in and around the Twin Cities. The duo also won a number of counties that Trump had carried in 2016, including Walz’s home of Blue Earth. As a note, if Walz ascends to the vice presidency, Flanagan will be the first native woman to become a governor in United States history.

Walz faced a tougher race in 2022 from State Senator Scott Jensen, albeit in a more Republican-favoring year. This time around, Walz and Flanagan won by about seven and a half points, and saw their margins in rural Minnesota decrease, with Walz losing his old Congressional seat for the first time in his political career. The duo managed to carry one county that Joe Biden had lost in 2020 (Rice), whereas Jensen carried one that Biden had won (Winona). Walz recently faced some criticism in falling behind Biden’s margins, but given that it was a somewhat Republican-leaning midterm, this performance is likely a fairly decent posting.

During his tenure as Governor, Walz has had several notable accomplishments. His first was policing reform in the wake of the death of George Floyd, which happened one city away from the state capital of St. Paul. Minnesota. Operating with a divided legislature and with eyes across the nation watching Minnesota, the policing bill signed by Walz severely limits the use of chokeholds, and implements many more points of review for policing actions. 

Beginning in 2023, Minnesota gained a Democratic trifecta. Despite this narrow majority, Walz enjoyed major successes. Under his leadership, Walz entered Minnesota into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which upon hitting 270 electoral votes worth of signatories would make the popular vote decide the winner of a Presidential election instead of the Electoral College. Walz and the legislature had a very consequential rest of session, managing to require paid sick leave, fully legalizing recreational marijuana (Minnesota had accidentally legalized edibles previously), and providing free meals to students (while some Republican governors were taking it away), drawing ire from Republicans in the state and around the country. Walz’s leadership had a demonstrable impact on the state, and highlighted the power of Democratic governors that won 2018 and 2019 on changing the trajectory of their home states, and, accordingly, he has typically displayed favorable approval ratings. 

Where Will He Go?

Prior to Walz’s Morning Joe interview, he hadn’t even made VP Harris’s shortlist of possible nominees to take her current position, which included Governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania (the assumed top candidate), and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. This interview, however, fit very well with the growing narrative of Democrats calling Republicans “weird” for attempting to infringe on the right to privacy, among other issues. Walz skyrocketed to Harris’s shortlist, and actually overtook Shapiro on several betting markets as the favorite to be Harris’s VP the evening prior to the big announcement (these markets, if they can be used for anything, can signal a “vibe shift”). 

Walz’s ascension comes at a time where Democrats are very concerned about the Rust Belt. Prior to Biden’s withdrawal from the Presidential race, Trump was leading in most polls in the region, and even in most swing states. Harris replacing Biden as the standard-bearer for the Democratic party has significantly lessened this deficit, but the polls are still showing a close race. Minnesota was a state teetering on being in play for 2024, but Walz’s nomination in all likelihood locks it down for the campaign, as well as strengthens their standing in Wisconsin, Michigan, and potentially even Pennsylvania. Though it should be said, if Minnesota was actually in play, Democrats would have a much bigger problem. Minnesota Democrats also have to defend their narrow State House majority this fall, and who better than a son of Minnesota running for the Vice Presidency to help give them the boost they need?

But Why Walz? 

Walz went from off the short list to the final two, according to a Reuters article, at rapid speed. The other finalist, who spoke before Harris and Walz at tonight's rally, Josh Shapiro was widely considered to be the pick considering he's actually from a swing state. Walz is said to have aced his in person interview. Him joining the ticket continues something of trend of presidential candidates eschewing swing state politicians as their pick. Vice Presidential candidates, if they have any measurable impact on the race, have a marginal impact in their home states. Shapiro also reportedly informed Kamala Harris, the day before the decision, that he was having trouble deciding to leave Pennsylvania. This can probably be read as pretty much pulling out without explicitly doing so. But still not exactly what you want to hear 12 hours before making the biggest decision of your life to date. He'd also seen backlash from progressives (which would actually probably increase his chances) and, to paraphrase his in-state rival, John Fetterman, his ambition would make even the most ambitious politician blush.  It's unclear which, or if any, of these put Walz over the finish line. Before moving on, it should be said Josh Shapiro has been the victim of vile anti-Semitic attacks online recently.

Now that he's been tapped, Walz will bring balance to the ticket, at least optically. Ironically, Kamala is less liberal than her image and Walz is likely more liberal than his image. People often think African Americans are more liberal than they are because they largely back Democrats. People think, because Walz represented a highly rural district, he must be a conservative Democrat. Just as an anecdote, Walz was one of 12 congressional Democrats to vote to hold A.G. Eric Holder, who led this VP vetting process, in contempt.

We won't know until after the election, if ever, if this choice was a good one. If these two win it'll be for a million reasons, but if they lose those reasons will be boiled down to one or two reasons. As the saying goes, victories have a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.