Timothy James Walz (born April 6, 1964) is an American politician, former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer, and retired educator who has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is now the nominee for vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election. He served as a United States House of Representatives member representing Minnesota’s 1st congressional district from 2007 to 2019. Scroll to the bottom for reactions.
Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz joined the Army National Guard and worked in agriculture, manufacturing, and teaching after high school. He later graduated from Chadron State College in Nebraska before moving to Minnesota in 1996. Before running for Congress, he worked as a social studies teacher in the Mankato school district. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Minnesota’s 1st congressional district in 2006, defeating six-term Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He was reelected five times, retiring in 2019 after being elected governor. Walz represented a large, mostly rural section of southern Minnesota along the border with Iowa.
Walz was elected governor of Minnesota on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican nominee Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. He was reelected in the 2022 Minnesota gubernatorial election, defeating Republican nominee Scott Jensen. In August 2024, Kamala Harris selected Walz as her running mate after reports placed him on the shortlist.
During the Israel–Hamas war, Walz condemned Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel and ordered flags to be lowered to half mast in the following days. Following the 2024 Minnesota Democratic presidential primary, where 19% of voters cast “uncommitted” ballots to protest President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, Walz expressed sympathy towards these voters, describing them as “civically engaged.”
Regarding the protests against U.S. funding of the war in Gaza, Walz stated: “This issue is a humanitarian crisis. They have every right to be heard… These folks are asking for a change in course, they’re asking for more pressure to be put on… You can hold competing things: that Israel has the right to defend itself, and the atrocities of October 7 are unacceptable, but Palestinian civilians being caught in this… has got to end.” Walz also expressed support for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Reactions:
Democrats:
You can be excited about the Walz pick but also be sad that an outright antisemitic campaign was waged against Shapiro.
Some soul searching is needed. The Jewish community is a serious vote in 2024 and the voices of antisemitism and hate should have no platform.
See AlsoGetting to Know You: The Walz EditionMy family spent 4 days in Washington, DC. Here are 5 things that were totally worth it and one we'd skip next time.[KH] Campaign Is An Illusion,Trump All Eyes On The DNC,Is Something About To Happen? – Ep. 3421Democrats! Sell me on Harris!— Maury Litwack (@mlitwack) August 6, 2024
Picking Walz is a massive gift to the Republicans. He's a radical Leftist from a non-swing state with a long history of insane statements, who presided over the burning down of his state in 2020. Kamala picked him because he's not a Jew, and she's Too Online™.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 6, 2024
“One person’s socialism is another person's neighborliness.”
— Tim Walzpic.twitter.com/DHVSo37jsZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 6, 2024
Here is Tim Walz smiling as he signs a law that provides drivers license for illegal aliens in Minnesota
He wants all of America to do the same
This guy is as radical as it gets pic.twitter.com/hpkrCFhRVU
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 6, 2024
Welcome to the race, Tim Walz!
Let’s make sure America knows who you are.
You helped ignite the George Floyd riots, the worst the country had seen in decades. While Minneapolis burned, you stalled on deploying the National Guard for an entire day, blaming the city for not…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 6, 2024
Kamala Harris’s VP choice, Tim Walz, is the governor who just changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag. This man has absolutely ZERO LOYALTY to our country and he says that socialism is a good thing.pic.twitter.com/AqhGDrg0yN
— Philip Anderson (@VoteHarrisOut) August 6, 2024
No, this is not a video from a war-torn country in the Middle East.
This is the aftermath of the Minneapolis Riots when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz allowed it to burn four consecutive nights.
This is the legacy of Kamala Harris’s new running mate. pic.twitter.com/s4qii8uUBc
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 6, 2024
Kamala's pick is Tim Walz.
She passed on Josh Shapiro out of fear of the Democratic Party's Hamas/Hezbollah wing. Democrat elites are terrified of the keffiyeh-clad radicals in Dearborn.
That says everything you need to know about Kamala—and the modern Democratic Party.
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) August 6, 2024
Instead of picking the centrist Jewish American dynamo Shapiro, @KamalaHarris will reportedly choose as VP Tim Walz—a far-left gov. who let BLM burn down MN and is best buds with Hamas caucus members Ilhan Omar & AOC. He’s all smiles with the U.S.’s top Israel-haters. pic.twitter.com/smbJFZOfLZ
— Shafiq Ades (@shafiq_ades) August 6, 2024
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz want to make the rest of America look like San Francisco and Minneapolis: High crime, anti-police, high illegal immigration, and support for the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel core of the Democrat party.
Harris-Walz is the most radical, extreme leftist ticket…
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) August 6, 2024
