Tim Walz will not be essentially the most recognisable identify within the politics of america.
However from Tuesday onwards, the Minnesota governor can be a number one determine within the presidential marketing campaign as Vice President Kamala Harris’s Democratic running mate.
Harris, who has secured her celebration’s nomination for the November 5 polls, selected Walz as her VP choose, saying she was “proud” of her selection.
“As a governor, a coach, a instructor, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working households like his. It’s nice to have him on the staff,” Harris posted on X.
Walz stated it was the “honour of a lifetime” to be Harris’s vice presidential choose.
“I’m all in. It jogs my memory a little bit of the primary day of college. So, let’s get this executed, people!” he posted on X.
If Harris defeats Republican nominee Donald Trump within the November polls, Walz can be a heartbeat away from the US presidency.
Whereas vice presidents’ official duties are restricted, they function potential heirs and companions in governing on the White Home. As operating mates, they’re top surrogates for the marketing campaign.
So who’s Walz and the place does he stand on the problems driving the US election?
Walz, 60, has each govt and legislative experiences.
He was first elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and received a second time period 4 years later. Regardless of the state not being a conventional Democratic stronghold, Walz received each races with ease.
Previous to his gubernatorial tenure, Walz served within the US Home of Representatives for 12 years, representing a largely rural district in southern Minnesota.
Walz can be a US navy veteran, having served within the Military Nationwide Guard for twenty-four years after becoming a member of it on the age of 17. Earlier than operating for Congress, he labored as a faculty instructor.
On coverage, the governor has been lauded by some progressives for with the ability to advance left-wing priorities in a swing state.
Over the previous six years, Walz has authorized programmes that might cowl faculty tuition for low-income college students, carried out free breakfast and lunch at public colleges, legalised leisure marijuana for adults and expanded protections for staff.
Walz can be seen as a robust defender of abortion rights. Furthermore, he has backed many local weather initiatives, together with a regulation to transition Minnesota to carbon-free electrical energy by 2040.
Whereas Republicans are more likely to argue that Walz’s report is just too liberal, the governor has not shied away from standing by his insurance policies.
Requested about being labelled a “huge authorities liberal”, Walz instructed CNN final month, “What a monster! Youngsters are consuming and having full bellies to allow them to go be taught, and girls are making their very own healthcare selections, and we’re a prime 5 enterprise state, and we additionally rank within the prime three in happiness.”
“If that’s the place they wish to label me, I’m very happy to take the label,” he added.
Jennifer Victor, a political science professor at George Mason College, instructed Al Jazeera Walz is an “attention-grabbing selection”, noting that many People might not have heard of him earlier than Tuesday.
Victor stated Walz has a relatable “Midwestern vibe”. “Plainly maybe Harris has chosen him for these optimistic attributes that she thinks might make the ticket extra interesting to swing voters,” she stated.
She highlighted Walz’s criticism of Republicans as “bizarre”, quite than a mortal menace to democracy.
“This was not a line of framing that we had seen Democrats efficiently use in opposition to Republicans up to now, and Walz delivered it in a form of personable, softer method that I believe simply resonated with extra folks,” she stated.
Past home coverage, the US strategy to the battle in Gaza and hovering tensions within the Center East is proving to be a outstanding concern on this election cycle.
Whereas governors don’t dictate international coverage, Walz has expressed assist for Israel and ordered the flags at half-staff in solidarity with the US ally after Hamas’s October 7 assault.
Whereas serving in Congress, Walz had additionally taken pro-Israel positions.
“Israel is our truest and closest ally within the area, with a dedication to values of non-public freedoms and liberties, surrounded by a reasonably robust neighborhood,” he had stated in 2010.
However in March, after nearly 19 percent of Democratic voters in Minnesota solid “uncommitted” votes to protest President Joe Biden’s unconditional assist for Israel, Walz advised that he understands the rising frustration with the US strategy.
He stated folks who voted “uncommitted” have “each proper” to be heard.
“These people are asking for a change in course. They’re asking for extra stress to be placed on,” Walz instructed MPR Information at the moment.
“Persons are pissed off, but it surely bodes nicely for me that they’re actively engaged to exit and solid his vote and ask for change,” he stated.
