Kamala Harris has officially picked a running mate for her 2024 campaign: Tim Walz. Former schoolteacher, football coach, master sergeant National Guardsman, and Midwestern dad.
The Minnesota Governor and former social studies high school teacher excitedly declared: “We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”
A “dangerously liberal extremist”?
Tim Walz represents the polar opposite of Trump’s running mate JD Vance. He is an LGBTQ+ ally, helping students form a gay-straight alliance in hopes of eradicating anti-LGBTQ+ bullying during his time as a teacher, and a father thanks to the help of treatments such as IVF. About Vance, Walz declared: “I can’t wait to debate the guy”.
Labelled a “dangerously liberal extremist” by Trump’s campaign team, and a “San Fransisco-style liberal” by JD Vance, Walz has made headlines during his time as Governor, banning conversion therapy in Minnesota for minors and vulnerable adults.
He has gained a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, an American non-profit that provides reproductive and sexual healthcare, including abortion services.
Additionally, he has boasted that whilst Minnesota classrooms “don’t have the 10 Commandments postered in our classrooms, we do have free breakfast and lunch.”
Walz signed free breakfast and lunch for students in Minnesota into law. As a “two decades school teacher,” he encourages that “full bellies make better learners.”
“The kind of vice-president America deserves”
A Nebraskan Protestant dad of two, Tim Walz was described by Harris at the Philadelphia rally as “the kind of vice-president America deserves”. Contrasting to the idea many have of the political beliefs of the typical American Christian, Walz lives by a “golden rule”: “Mind your own damn business.”
This is reflected in his record for LGBTQ+ rights, protecting gender-affirming care in Minnesota and showing early support to the end of the US military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, which prevented members of the military from being openly LGBTQ+ if they wished to keep their positions.
Walz seems to still hold the former teacher’s value of genuinely caring about America’s youth. He first entered politics as a campaign volunteer for John Kerry in 2004, after one of his students was questioned by a security guard during a field trip to a George Bush rally for having a “Kerry” sticker on their wallet.
The NRA and rights for veterans
Formerly endorsed by the NRA (National Rifle Association) for his record on gun rights as a Congressman, Walz denounced the organisation and called for stronger gun control laws after the Parkland high school shooting of 2018.
He went on to sign a bill to establish universal background checks when purchasing a gun in Minnesota.
Tim Walz also advocates for the rights of veterans, after serving for 24 years in the Army National Guard, Walz has expanded education benefits for veterans and in certain cases, allowed individuals to transfer these benefits to family members. Additionally, Walz was the lead House sponsor of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.
There are no signs of a vice-president debate as of yet, but the chances of a debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are also still unclear. Trump proposed a debate on the 4th of September, while Harris claimed that he agreed to debate on the 10th.
The election itself will take place on Tuesday the 5th of November.
Featured Image Credit: Drew Arrieta
4th year Politics and Journalism student.
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The Herald Student Press Awards Columnist Of The Year 2024 (which sorry i’m still not over)
