MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
After weeks of speculation and lots of what-ifs about what potential vice-presidential candidates would bring to a Democratic ticket, that wide field of choices has now narrowed to one. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will run alongside Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The pair did their first rally today in Philadelphia.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And now, welcome the next vice president of the United States, Tim Walz.
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CHANG: Harris supporters are hoping that Walz will help win Midwestern voters in key swing states. But Walz also comes with some baggage from his time as governor. Minnesota Public Radio's Dana Ferguson reports.
DANA FERGUSON, BYLINE: Lately, Tim Walz has been hearkening back to his rural roots as he introduces himself to voters around the country.
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TIM WALZ: My town had 400 people in it, 24 kids in my graduating class. Twelve were cousins.
FERGUSON: It's a line that Minnesotans have heard several times as Walz hit the campaign trail first in southern Minnesota in his bid for Congress, then around the state in his two successful bids for governor, and now as he stumps for Vice President Harris. Walz is fond of one-liners and dad jokes that he uses to poke at political rivals. He recycles them, including one he's coined recently to brand former President Donald Trump and his policy priorities as weird.
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WALZ: I got to tell you my observation on this is - have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me that an adult can go through 6 1/2 years of being in the public eye. If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone.
FERGUSON: Walz is also not afraid of a less polished look. He often sports and prefers a plain T-shirt and a ball cap. He talks fast, which makes him trip over words or leads to confusing run-on sentences that he and staff sometimes have to clean up.
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WALZ: When you're serving in the moment on these things, I think, on anything you go back and look, decisions were made in a situation that is what it is.
FERGUSON: Walz was born and raised in rural Nebraska. At 17, he enlisted in the Army National Guard. He went on to become a public school teacher and met his wife in the classroom. The pair moved to Minnesota. Years later, Walz ran for Congress in a year when Democrats were recruiting candidates with military credentials. After a race that focused on the Iraq War and the economy, Walz upset a longtime Republican congressman by a slim margin. Walz told supporters that he'd strive to bridge political gaps in Washington.
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WALZ: We have an opportunity now to lead this country in the direction it needs to go, leaving behind the divisive partisan politics.
FERGUSON: Walz had been representing Minnesota's first congressional district for six terms when he set off on a bid for governor under a One Minnesota mantra. He won. In his first term, Walz faced divided government. He worked with lawmakers in 2019 to pass a budget with wins for both sides of the aisle, boosted spending for schools and a tax cut. Former Senate majority leader Paul Gazelka, a Republican, says he had a good working relationship with the governor.
PAUL GAZELKA: We found compromises that worked well for the state of Minnesota.
FERGUSON: But that relationship soured during COVID-19. Aiming to curb the spread of the virus, Walz ordered schools be emptied. Later, he required restaurants and houses of worship shut their doors and Minnesotans stay home. Some grew frustrated about the limitations on their lives and Walz's authority. Gazelka and Republicans in the legislature would eventually push to lift the Walz emergency orders.
In May of 2020, Minnesota faced another moment of crisis - the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Frustration ignited protests and riots around the city. Walz called in thousands of National Guard soldiers and state troopers but not quickly enough to prevent the burning of a police precinct and looting of several businesses.
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WALZ: We cannot have the looting and the recklessness that went on. We cannot have it 'cause we can't function as a society.
FERGUSON: Walz and Minneapolis Democratic mayor, Jacob Frey, publicly disagreed over who should have taken charge. The Republican Gazelka says the governor acted too late.
GAZELKA: It felt like he froze and delayed getting the National Guard out three days beyond what Mayor Frey had requested, and that's just unacceptable.
FERGUSON: The timing of the National Guard call-up is part of the presidential race already. During a recent rally in Minnesota, Donald Trump took credit for sending in the National Guard. Despite the trying moments, Walz cruised to reelection after campaigning on a promise to protect access to abortion services in Minnesota after the rollback of Roe v. Wade. And by the narrowest of margins, voters handed Democrats full control of the state legislature. Democrats checked off every item on their wish list - free school meals, legal protections for abortion and those seeking gender-affirming care, new gun restrictions and paid family and medical leave benefits for workers. Here's Walz.
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WALZ: There's going to be some - and we heard them talk about it during this session - that asked, what's in it for me? This group said, what's in it for Minnesota? And everybody's going to take something a little different from this.
FERGUSON: Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, thinks the governor's track record will appeal beyond Minnesota.
DENISE SPECHT: Everything that he's, you know, done to improve working lives for working families, protecting collective bargaining - he has a great track record that I think would resonate across this country.
FERGUSON: The policy wins helped launch the governor's national profile, and they are key for Walz's appeal among Democrats. But they're also fueling blowback from Republicans. Within hours of the announcement, the Trump campaign labeled Walz a, quote, "dangerously liberal extremist." In recent weeks, Walz has had a front-row seat to the unfolding drama around the presidential ticket, from Joe Biden's decision to leave the race to Harris' ascent. And now Walz has a spot running by her side for a three-month sprint to election day.
For NPR News, I'm Dana Ferguson in St. Paul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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