by MPR News Staff at West Central Tribune
Tim Walz, the second-term Minnesota governor with a folksy demeanor and a swath of experience inside and out of government, gained a spot on the Democratic ticket as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential choice.
The former high school geography teacher and National Guard veteran, who helped enact a long list of progressive policy priorities in Minnesota, could win over voters in Midwestern swing states. He said he would help Democrats push to expand reproductive health, voting and workers’ rights on the federal level, if elected.
But the 60-year-old governor could also face questions about his response to riots in Minneapolis following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and widespread fraud during COVID-19 under a federal program intended to feed kids. Audits have suggested lapses in oversight by the state Department of Education.
Walz is fond of one-liners and dad jokes that he uses to poke at political rivals. He recycles them often, including one he’s coined recently to brand former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance as “weird” over their comments and policy positions.
Walz is not afraid to look frumpy and often sports a plain t-shirt and a ballcap, attire he prefers to the suit he must throw on for political engagements. He talks fast, which often makes him trip over words or leads to confusing run-on sentences.