Who is Tim Walz? Veteran, teacher, coach, Minnesota governor, ‘America’s Dad’, Kamala Harris’ running mate

Vice President Kamala Harris has placed the final piece of her presidential campaign puzzle, naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the race to the White House.

Mr Walz triumphed over higher-profile Democrats like Ben Shapiro and Mark Kelly in an intensive, two-week selection process to find the VP for their VP after Ms Harris was anointed the party’s presumptive presidential candidate when President Joe Biden withdrew his re-election bid.

The 60-year-old midwest politician emerged as an energetic, plain-speaking, and staunch advocate for Ms Harris since she was first endorsed for the candidacy, and has been a cutting critic of Republican presidential rivals Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

Indeed, Mr Walz was the first to deliver the seemingly off-handed comment about the Trump-Vance pair and their allies being “weird”; a word that resonated with swing voters enough that the Democrats adopted it as a rallying cry as they clawed their way back up the polls.

Adding to his appeal among the internet generation is a certain daggy je na sais quoi that has earned him the moniker of “America’s dad”.

Some analysts call it a “white dude appeal” that analysts believe is essential to appeal across the political divide and, ultimately, to keep the “blue wall” standing in key states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

At the first Democratic rally since announcing Mr Walz as her running mate, Ms Harris told the 10,000-strong crowd in Philadelphia the Nebraska-born governor was “a fighter for the middle class” and a “leader who will help unite our nation”, citing his proven track record of winning over rural, conservative areas.

That cross-party appeal to voters no doubt stems from his background: his deep roots in the red-leaning midwest, army service, career in public education (and football coaching to boot), before a final turn to politics. And perhaps, the White House.

Who is Tim Walz?

Timothy James Walz was born and raised in rural Nebraska to a “public school administrator and community activist”.

He graduated high school in a class of 24 students — “I was related to half of them,” he mused in a campaign video — before following his father’s encouragement and joining the Army National Guard at age 17.

Mr Walz served for 24 years before retiring as a Command Sergeant Major. He then attended college, graduating in 1989 and embarking on a teaching career — first in China, then Nebraska, and finally Minnesota, where he was the geography teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School.

He stayed at Mankato West for about a decade until he decided to run for public office in 2006, reportedly motivated to do so after he and some students were denied entry to a 2004 George W. Bush campaign event because organisers found out they were Democrats.

He won, flipping a long-held Republican seat in a rural part of Minnesota to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District. Mr Walz was re-elected five times, resigning in 2019 after being elected governor of a large, predominantly rural area of Minnesota in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022.

As governor, Mr Walz signed a range of legislation including codifying abortion rights, legalising recreational marijuana, offering free meals at public schools, running gun background checks, more quickly restoring voting rights to ex-criminals, and offering free college tuition for low-income families.

As well as being a progressive candidate, proof you cannot judge a book by its ‘stale, pale, male’ cover, Mr Walz’ selection has added to the joie de vivre of this second-coming Democratic campaign.

He said it was the “honour of a lifetime” to be on the ticket alongside Ms Harris. And he may prove to be the candidate of her history-making dreams.