:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2164176005-e3e4a9b6bfc8427abd6fd6828c6f114d.jpg "Who is Tim Walz? Minnesota’s Governor and 2024 Democratic VP Candidate")
Tim Walz was named as Kamala Harris’s vice presidential running mate for the 2024 election on Aug. 6, 2024. Walz is the current governor of Minnesota and earlier served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His history spans various roles and achievements in both state and national politics, highlighting a career centered around public service.
Key Takeaways
- Tim Walz was named as Kamala Harris’s running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket on Aug. 6, 2024.
- He is currently the governor of Minnesota, serving in that role since 2018.
- Previously he was elected to six terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota.
- Before entering politics, Walz spent several decades as a high school teacher in Nebraska and Minnesota.
- He also served in the Army National Guard, retiring after 24 years with the rank of command sergeant major, which made him the highest ranking enlisted officer ever to serve in Congress.
Early Life and Education
Tim Walz was born on April 6, 1964 in rural West Point, Nebraska. His official biography from his time in Congress describes his parents as “a public school administrator and community activist.”
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17 and would go on to serve for 24 years, retiring in 2005 with the rank of command sergeant major. Again according to his Congressional biography, that made him “the highest ranking enlisted officer ever to serve in Congress.”
Walz graduated from Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, in 1989, with a B.S. in social science education. He followed that with a year of teaching high school in China before returning to the U.S. for a high school teaching job in Nebraska.
After his 1994 marriage to Gwen Whipple, a fellow teacher, he moved with her to her native state of Minnesota, where they both took teaching posts at Mankato West High School, southwest of Minneapolis. Walz also helped coach the school’s state championship-winning football team and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University in Mankato.
As The New York Times wryly put it in an article about his selection for the Harris ticket, “He reminds you of your high school history teacher for a reason.”
If elected in November 2024, Tim Walz will become the third Minnesotan vice president of the United States, after Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, both also Democrats.
Political Career
After his retirement from the military, Walz ran for a U.S. House seat representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District. After winning that election in 2006, he was re-elected for another five terms. During his time in Congress, Walz served on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
In 2018, he ran in a statewide election, becoming Minnesota’s 41st governor. He was re-elected to a second term in 2022.
In July 2024, after Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, Walz became part of a short list of mostly state governors and U.S. senators under consideration for the vice presidential slot.
Announcing her selection of Walz, candidate Harris hit all the highlights of his resume: “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.”
Governorship
During his years as Minnesota governor, Walz championed legislation on a number of key issues.
As the Star Tribune in Minneapolis noted, “Walz was handily re-elected to a second term alongside narrow Democratic majorities in the Legislature. Using a $17.5 billion budget surplus, they spent billions of dollars on schools, infrastructure and other programs while passing a long list of progressive priorities such as marijuana legalization, universal school meals, paid family and medical leave, and abortion rights protections.”
His official bio on the state website says that, “Accomplishments from his time as Governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers.”
Walz has made a particular issue of child poverty. Along with what his office called “the largest tax cut in state history,” Minnesota’s 2023 budget included “a nation-leading Child Tax Credit, which provides up to $1,750 per child for lower income families, [and] is expected to cut child poverty by 33%.”
What Is Tim Walz’s Current Role?
Tim Walz is currently serving his second term as the governor of Minnesota. He was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
What Positions Did Tim Walz Hold Before Becoming Governor?
Walz began his career as a high school teacher before making the transition into politics, first becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and then his state’s governor. He also spent more than two decades in the Army National Guard from Nebraska and Minnesota.
How Long Did Tim Walz Serve in Congress?
Walz was elected to six consecutive two-year terms from his Minnesota House district, starting in 2006.
The Bottom Line
Once a relatively obscure figure on the national stage, Tim Walz recently emerged into the spotlight as a contender for—and ultimately the grand prize winner of—a coveted slot on the Democratic ticket. His Midwest roots and relatable resume as a one-time soldier, teacher, and football coach all contributed to his rise.
Preparing to hit the campaign trail in his new role, the former teacher wrote on X, “It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.”
