PHILADELPHIA — Governor Tim Walz says he wants to bring Minnesota values to the White House as Vice President Kamala Harris formally introduced him as her running mate during a rally in Philadelphia.
It was the first campaign appearance for the two since Harris announced earlier in the day that the Minnesota governor would join her atop the Democratic ticket.
After several speakers, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who was on the shortlist of finalists to be named as Harris' running mate, the vice president announced she was officially the Democratic presidential nominee.
"We are the underdogs in this race, but we have the momentum and I know exactly what we are up against," Harris told her supporters while sharing the stage with Walz at Tuesday's rally.
Harris spoke about her decision process, saying she wanted to to find a leader who would help unite the country.
"Pennsylvania, I'm here today because I found such a leader — Governor Tim Walz of the great state of Minnesota," Harris said while pointing to Walz.
Harris spoke about Walz's background as a veteran, teacher and football coach, while also speaking about his political background, before shifting her focus to some of her policies, including reproductive rights, voting rights and gun laws.
"Through his work, he really does shine a light on a brighter future that we can build together," Harris said. "In his state, he has been a model chief executive, and with his experience, I'm telling you, Tim Walz will be ready on day one."
Walz followed Harris by thanking the vice president for the selection, adding that he's "thrilled to be on this journey with you and (husband) Doug (Emhoff)."
Walz went on to praise Shapiro and Harris, before speaking about some of his own background — both personally and politically.
"Minnesota's strengths come from our values, our commitment to working together," Walz said. "To seeing past our differences to always being willing to lend a helping hand. Those are the same values I learned on the family farm, and that I tried to instill in my students. I took it Congress and in the State Capitol, and now, Vice President Harris and I are running to take those very values to the White House."
Earlier in the day, Harris posted video of her calling Walz to officially ask him to be her running mate.
"I would be honored, Madam Vice President," Walz said in the video. "The joy that you're bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that's out there, it'll be a privilege to take this with you across the country."
In the video, Harris responded by telling the Minnesota governor how much she respects him, and how much she's enjoyed working with him.
"You understand our country," Harris said. "You have dedicated yourself to our country in so many different and beautiful ways."
Before Walz held the state’s highest office, he lived in a small town in northern Nebraska, where he joined the Army National Guard at the age of 17. He served in the Guard for 24 years, all while embarking on a teaching career that would bring him to Minnesota in 1996, where he’d meet his future wife and fellow teacher, Gwen.
After 10 years of teaching geography and coaching football at Mankato West High School, Walz embarked on his first campaign in 2006, vying for a seat in Congress through southern Minnesota's Republican-leaning First Congressional District.
In 2018, Walz launched his first bid for governor with the theme of "One Minnesota," and made history by picking State Rep. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation, as his running mate. After a contentious election season, Walz ultimately defeated Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in his pursuit of the office.
During his first term, Walz faced a Legislature split between a Democratic-led House and a Republican-controlled Senate that resisted his proposals to use higher taxes to boost money for schools, health care and roads. But he and lawmakers brokered compromises that made the state's divided government still seem productive.
Things got easier for Walz in his second term, after he defeated Republican Scott Jensen, and Democrats gained control of both legislative chambers, clearing the way for a more liberal course in state government, aided by a huge budget surplus.
Walz and lawmakers eliminated nearly all of the state abortion restrictions enacted in the past by Republicans, protected gender-affirming care for transgender youth and legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
Some of Walz's critics are calling him out for these state abortion restrictions, as well as his response to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 unrest following George Floyd's death and the "Feeding our Future" meal fraud, where dozens of people were accused of bilking the federal government out of $250 million intended to feed underserved children when schools were shut down by COVID in 2020 and 2021.
"Walz's failures as governor go perfectly with the Biden Administration's failures nationally," said David Hann, MN GOP Chairman in a statement. "While we in Minnesota know that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are a perfect match for each other, we know first hand that their policies would be disastrous for the rest of the country in every way imaginable."