What to know about Tim Walz, Harris' VP pick

A few things to know about Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate

What you probably already know: Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced she has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate in the upcoming election. We dove into some of Walz’s background and policies to get a sense of what this selection could mean for the campaign and policies if they are elected.

Why Walz? Part of the rationale was likely his deep ties to the midwest, including to the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, both of which share economic and cultural similarities with Minnesota. He’s also managed to take on Donald Trump and JD Vance without coming across as nasty — calling them “weird” in a TV interview that has since gone viral. That concept has resonated with the Democratic base and become a talking point.

Background: Walz served in the national guard for 24 years and retired as a sergeant major. He’s also been a high school teacher, and also spent time teaching overseas in China. He launched his campaign for Congress in 2006. Despite representing a district that leaned Republican, he was re-elected five times before running and winning the governor’s seat in 2018.

On abortion: He has taken steps to protect abortion access in Minnesota. He signed a bill last year that guaranteed residents of his state the “fundamental right to make autonomous decisions” about reproductive health care, including abortion, contraception and fertility treatments. The law protected a ruling that was already in place by the Minnesota Supreme Court protecting abortion access, though Walz said he was open to an amendment to the state’s constitution, as well. He and his wife have used IVF treatments to conceive two of their children, and he has been vocal about his support for this.

On the economy: He has provided tax rebates for low- and middle-income residents, and funded a child tax credit for low-income families, while increasing taxes on investment income for wealthy taxpayers. He supported provisions that provided paid family and medical leave for Minnesotans, and expanded unemployment benefits to hourly school workers like bus drivers and classroom support professionals. He also pushed for $150 million in improvements to incentive programs that make grants, loans and funding for economic development projects in new and emerging industries.

On the environment: Walz set a goal of 100% renewable energy in Minnesota by 2040, and aimed to have 20% of all cars in the state be electric vehicles by 2030. He was directing his administration to focus on replacing fossil-fuel plants across the state with renewable energy facilities, and just announced a $200 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions in the food system, particularly those associated with farms, supermarkets and waste processing.

On LGBTQ+ rights: Walz has been a supporter of the community since the 1990s, when he sponsored a gay-straight alliance at the high school where he worked, where he was also the football coach. He has vocally supported same-sex marriage.

On gun violence: He is a gun owner himself, and an avid hunter of pheasants and turkeys, even hosting the Governor’s Turkey Hunting Opener” to kick off turkey-hunting season in Minnesota. Walz was more politically moderate earlier in this career and at one point did receive an endorsement from the National Rifle Association and an “A” rating. He has since changed his stance and now wants tighter gun controls and has signed several gun control measures into law. Since then, the NRA downrated him to an “F.”

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