Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Together, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will fight for a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.
Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have spent their careers fighting for working families across the country. As a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, and vice president, Vice President Harris has taken on the big banks, led the fight for reproductive freedom, and stood with our allies against Putin’s aggression. Governor Walz is a champion for working families, a retired Army National Guardsman, a former high school teacher and football coach, Member of Congress, and two term governor where he cut taxes for working families, lowered the cost of insulin, and protected women’s right to choose.
Vice President Harris wrote: “I am proud to announce that I’ve asked Governor Tim Walz to be my running mate. One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his own. We are going to build a great partnership. We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election.”
Later today, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will make their first joint campaign appearance at a rally with thousands of supporters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This event is the first of a five-day barnstorm to introduce the Harris-Walz ticket to voters in key battleground states.
From now until Election Day, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will continue to crisscross the country to outline the choice between two very different visions for the future: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, who are running to move the country forward, not backward — or Donald Trump and JD Vance, who are running to enact their extreme and dangerous Project 2025 agenda that will roll back Americans’ rights and freedoms, hurt the middle class, and threaten our democracy.
Governor Tim Walz
Governor Walz is a champion for America’s working families. He enlisted in the Army National Guard, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. After attending college thanks to the GI Bill, Tim Walz served his community as a high school teacher and football coach – taking his team to the state championship for the first time in the school’s history. He became a member of Congress in a Republican district by representing the needs of farmers and rural America. Governor Walz has done more to help middle class families get ahead than any other statewide leader in recent memory. That experience makes him the ideal running mate for Kamala Harris, who has taken on the big banks, led the fight for reproductive freedom, and stood with our allies against Putin’s aggression during her time as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President.
As governor, Walz lowered the cost of insulin to $35 per month for many Minnesotans. He eliminated junk fees. And, he signed paid leave into law so that parents can take care of sick family without losing their job. Governor Walz stood up for fundamental freedoms and made Minnesota the first state to pass a law codifying abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. He funded Minnesota police departments, putting more cops on the street and investing in body cameras, and established universal background checks for gun purchases. And, he worked across the aisle to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package.
A lifelong Midwesterner, Governor Walz grew up working on his family farm. He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 17, following in his father’s – a veteran’s – footsteps. During his 24 years of National Guard service, he specialized in heavy artillery and retired as the highest-ranking enlisted National Guard soldier in southern Minnesota.
Governor Walz is a gun owner, avid pheasant hunter, and supporter of the Second Amendment – and he, like millions of gun owners, believes that Congress must do more to tackle gun violence in our communities. As governor, he established universal background checks for gun purchases.
For six terms, Governor Walz represented Minnesota’s First Congressional District – a conservative-leaning district where he was only the second Democrat elected since 1890. The son of an Army veteran and a retired Army National Guard member himself, Walz was the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed legislation to help stem veterans’ suicides.
Governor Walz met his wife Gwen teaching high school in Nebraska before moving to Gwen’s home state of Minnesota. A former union member, Tim taught high school for two decades.
Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz have two children, Hope and Gus. Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz struggled with years of fertility challenges and had their daughter, Hope, through reproductive health care like IVF – further cementing his commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to this care.
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