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Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election, and here's everything you need to know about the high school teacher turned politician.
On Tuesday (August 6), Harris announced that Walz would be joining her on the Democratic presidential ticket.
Walz, 60, was born in West Point, Nebraska but raised in the Butte, a small town of roughly 400 people. The vice presidential candidate credits his rural upbringing for values he's carried throughout his career.
“A town that small had services like that and had a public school with a government teacher that inspired me to be sitting where I’m at today. Those are real stories in small towns," Walz once said.
At 17, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard, where he went on to become a non-commissioned officer. The Minnesota governor graduated from Chadron State College with a social science degree and later earned a Master of Science in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
After college, Walz taught in China before returning to the Army. He still speaks Mandarin.
The Democrat later moved to Mankato, Minnesota with his wife. Walz taught geography and coached football at Mankato West High School. He was also the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter.
Walz broke into politics in 2004 during former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign as a district coordinator of Vets for Kerry. In 2006, Walz was elected to Congress, marking one of the biggest House upsets of the year.
Walz was re-elected five times in the mostly rural, conservative 1st District in Minnesota. In 2017, Walz was tapped as the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where he focused on making strides in veterans' mental health, suicide, and pain management.
After serving in the House for 12 years, Walz successfully ran for Minnesota governor. Walz signed a school meals bill into law earlier this year, bringing free breakfast and lunch to Minnesota students.
“What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz previously quipped.
Walz also legalized recreational marijuana in Minnesota and signed an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care last year.
“As states across the country move to ban access to gender-affirming care, we want LGBTQ Minnesotans to know they will continue to be safe, protected, and welcome in Minnesota,” he previously said.
After Walz was announced as Harris' running mate on Tuesday, members of the Beyhive pointed out that Walz declared July 20, 2023 as Beyoncé Day in Minnesota amid her Renaissance tour stop at Huntington Bank Stadium.
“I might be Governor of Minnesota, but we all know who runs the world,” Walz tweeted at the time. “Welcome to Minnesota, Beyoncé!”
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