Could Tim Walz be the most progressive VP ever?

A former teacher and member of the US Army National Guard, Tim Walz has gone viral for attacking Donald Trump and JD Vance as “weird” – an insult the Harris campaign has embraced.

But could they embrace the governor of Minnesota entirely and put him on the presidential ticket?

Mr Walz may not have the same profile as other vice presidential hopefuls, but he is well-placed with a proven appeal to rural, white voters. He has championed progressive policies, including free school meals and expanded paid worker leave.

He also signed into law the so-called Taylor Swift bill, prompted by the frustration a legislator felt at not being able to buy tickets to Swift’s 2023 concert in Minneapolis. The law requires ticket sellers to disclose all fees upfront and prohibits resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket for live events held in Minnesota.

And while Minnesota is a solidly Democratic state, it is close to Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial battlegrounds. In 2020, Minnesota voted for Biden/Harris with a fairly comfortable margin, but the president’s win in Wisconsin was by a margin of just 0.63%.

The 60-year-old Mr Walz was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He is now Ivy League educated but graduated from state schools in Minnesota and Nebraska.

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He became a teacher, first in China, then Nebraska and finally in Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He also served in the Army National Guard for 24 years. It is this down-to-earth homespun style that has helped him connect with ordinary Americans.

Heidi Heitkamp, the former senator, described him as “someone with a lived experience that is so comparable to so many of the people in rural America”.

Mr Walz was an early supporter of LGBT rights, being the faculty advisor for his school’s first gay-straight alliance in 1999, long before Democrats openly supported gay rights.

He first ran for office in 2006 in a Republican-leaning congressional district, dispatching the incumbent in an upset and keeping the district for ten years. He ran for governor in 2018 and won, defending the seat again successfully in 2022.

Mr Walz co-chairs the rules committee for the Democratic National Convention and had maintained strong support for President Biden despite his shaky debate performance in June.

Mr Walz has been described as having the “most progressive record” of any of Ms Harris’s potential running mate picks.

His accomplishments include ensuring tuition-free meals at participating state universities, enshrining abortion rights into state law, banning conversion therapy and providing protections for gender-affirming healthcare.

When questioned about this on TV, he replied: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn. Women are making their own healthcare decisions. And we’re a top five business state and we also rank in the top three of happiness.”

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