Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, an ex-Army National Guard leader and a former teacher.
Harris was expected to introduce Walz at a rally Tuesday evening in Philadelphia.
A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former attorney general Eric Holder pored over documents and conducted interviews with potential vice presidential selections.
And Harris herself met with her three finalists on Sunday. She mulled the decision over Monday with top aides at the vice president’s residence in Washington and finalized it Tuesday morning.
Walz emerged as the choice.
In choosing Walz, she’s turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families.
Here’s what to know:
- Who is Tim Walz? Walz was a high school social studies teacher, football coach and union member before he got into politics. He served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military.
- Harris wins nomination: Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a deadline last week. She officially claimed the nomination Monday night when the DNC released final results.
- Trump in Georgia: Over the weekend, Donald Trump picked a new fight with Georgia’s Republican governor as he campaigned in the key swing state where he’s looking to avenge his narrow 2020 loss.
Minnesota Democratic strategist Abu Amara says Walz will be a good surrogate for Harris across the upper Midwest, because he represented a rural U.S. House district but won statewide in a state with large metropolitan and suburban areas.
“He’s not trying to speak in poetry. He speaks in practicality,” Amara said. “That’s a level of accessibility for so many voters.”
“He has the ability to connect with rural, suburban and urban voters,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it the “most left-wing ticket in American history” and accused Walz of not doing enough to protect Minnesota during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd.
He said “Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.”