Walz, unlike me, is not a born-and-raised Minnesotan (though his wife Gwen is)-he came to the state in the mid-1990's after being born in Nebraska, where he enlisted in the Army National Guard at the age of 17, and had his education at Chadron State College paid for by the GI Bill. He at one point taught in China, and still speaks relatively fluent Mandarin, but settled down in Mankato, Minnesota, with his wife Gwen, serving as a geography teacher and football coach at their local high school. He first-ran for Congress in 2006, winning a district only one Democrat had held in 100 years (and, it's worth noting, no Democrat has held since), one that went for Donald Trump in 2016. Walz's victory was driven by a moderate approach, which he took to Congress, but not one that impeded him from standing up for certain progressive pet issues. Walz backed gay marriage before Barack Obama or Joe Biden did, voted to pass the Affordable Care Act, and has a perfect record from Planned Parenthood & the ACLU. He was elected in 2018 as the Democratic nominee for governor largely as the "moderate" in that race, as most of the left-leaning aspects of the DFL were favoring State Rep. Erin Murphy. In his time as governor, he has had the first Democratic Trifecta in a generation in Minnesota politics, and has spent that time passing a cavalcade of bills, ranging from free school lunches to abortion protections to a conversion therapy ban.
Walz did not start Veepstakes as a frontrunner. Indeed, this might be the first time since Sarah Palin in 2008 where a name managed to get added to the list and get picked rather than just picking someone who was clearly the frontrunner since the beginning. Other figures like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, & Arizona Senator Mark Kelly were toward the top of the initial list, and indeed it came down to Shapiro or Walz for the final nomination. Shapiro was championed by a lot of the pundit class because he'd help Harris "secure Pennsylvania," but his own private ambition got in the way. Shapiro was reluctant to give up his governorship two years into his tenure, and also exhibited clear intentions to seek the White House himself, and basically was less about "what can I do for Harris" than "how can this help me?" if reports of the final vetting are correct.
Walz, on the other hand said in interviews he has no intention of running for president and has called this next step the last step of his career...something I want noted for the record since every Democratic Vice President since Alben Barkley has eventually run for the White House as the Dem nominee, and despite some saying he looks old (I think he just looks like a normal Midwestern 60-year-old man, myself), if Walz were to run & win two terms in 2032, he'd still be two years younger than Donald Trump is now, and Trump is attempting to add four years onto his presidential tenure. So for the record, I don't buy this if he wins, but we have years to quibble over whether it's true.
I personally am thrilled about Walz's candidacy-I think he brings an excitement that would've muted Harris's momentum had she chosen Kelly or Shapiro (I still think Andy Beshear as Attorney General or even a Supreme Court nominee is a road worth taking, as he was my other favorite in this Veepstakes). He has a midwestern sensibility that will aid Harris with swing voters that she'll struggle with in rural areas of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, & North Carolina. His military background, union memberships, & hobby as an avid hunter & fisherman will be hard for the GOP to paint him as a liberal in the way they could've someone like Shapiro or Buttigieg. He is different than what we expect a national politician to look like; he is the first person to have not attended law school to be on a Democratic presidential ticket since Jimmy Carter. He has a great personal story, including touching on hot-button issues like IVF (he named his daughter 'Hope' because he and his wife had spent eight years struggling to have children...a story that makes me cry every time I hear it, and I'm not going to be the only one). His initial rollout at the rally in Philadelphia yesterday showed someone who wasn't afraid to say the things that Harris can't (i.e. he went there on the couch joke), and showed a remarkable willingness to learn (somehow yesterday was the first time the 6-term congressman and 2-term governor had ever used a Teleprompter). In many ways he reminds me of a younger Joe Biden, ready to do the work, listen, and make sure he delivers for Harris. Reportedly Harris said during their final interview that she views their ticket as underdogs, and indeed, Harris does not have the poll numbers yet that would indicate she has taken the race over from Donald Trump (though she's getting there). Given his history as a man who knows how to lean into moderate/swing voters to win an election, Walz feels like the kind of running-mate who will view that less as a source-of-worry, and more as a source-of-opportunity, a place where he can lean in and make sure America elects its first woman president (and its third Minnesotan VP 😊).
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