How Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz became an unexpected contender for vice president

Two weeks ago, many people outside of Minnesota hadn't heard of Tim Walz.

The second-term Democratic governor and former congressman had just started to make his way onto the national stage after helping to enact a sweeping progressive agenda in 2023 and making occasional appearances on national television as a surrogate for President Joe Biden's re-election.

Since Biden's sudden exit from the race July 21, Walz is everywhere.

He's on cable news shows almost daily. His critiques of Republicans have been snipped and replayed thousands of times on social media. He's posting on X and hosting fundraisers. Gen Z activists are boosting him for the job. He's done so well that he's landed on the short list of contenders to run alongside Vice President Kamala Harris this fall. His newest fans call it "Walz-mentum."

"Tim Walz is the mid-western dad we need as VP," gun safety activist and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg posted on X.

It's a swift ascent few predicted but an opportunity observers say Walz was prepared to seize. He's leveraged his rural roots and backstory as a veteran, school teacher and red-district congressman who became a progressive governor.

"He's successfully threaded the needle of being liberal enough for the liberals and moderate enough for the moderates," said Marty Seifert, a former governor candidate and Republican legislator from southern Minnesota who's watched Walz's political career since his time in Congress.

For a female presidential candidate from the West Coast, he also can offer balance, demographically and politically.

"The stars aligned for a figure like Tim Walz," said Minneapolis lawyer and DFL strategist Abou Amara. "He seized the moment … in a way that, honestly, I think other governors were hoping they would."

Rural congressman, progressive governor

In national television appearances stumping for Harris, Walz has woven in details of his life as a married father of two, a high school geography teacher, military veteran and football coach who represented a largely rural district in Congress for a dozen years. He points out that he was re-elected to Congress in 2016 at the same time his district swung nearly 15 percentage points for former President Donald Trump.

His rumpled uncle looks and ability to talk hunting and fishing with Midwestern swing voters could balance the San Francisco roots and bicoastal polish of Harris.

"He's got something that's not like the square-jawed politician out of central casting," said Jeff Hayden, a former DFL senator who worked with Walz in the Legislature. "He's authentic in who he is, and that's something that's appealing to a lot of folks right now."

Republican Party Chair David Hann sees it differently, saying Walz is being marketed as a moderate while he's governed in St. Paul as a divisive partisan. Hann cited sweeping executive actions Walz took in response to COVID-19 and the broad progressive agenda he passed with DFL majorities in the House and Senate that left Republicans sidelined.

"As governor he recognized where the Democrats' political center of gravity is, and it's in the far left," Hann said. "As we've seen in the last few election cycles, I think Walz realized if he wants to be successful as governor he has to cater to that group."

In his national television appearances, Walz has promoted the legislation DFLers enacted in 2023 that included free school meals for all public school students regardless of need, abortion protections and stricter gun measures.

Asked on CNN if the new laws are an asset or offer Republicans an angle of attack, Walz laughed at the idea that they could be a liability. "What a monster, kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own health care decisions," he said.

The governor, 60, cuts a casual figure at the Capitol. He often wears jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap. Sometimes he skips the cap and adds a dark blazer. What remains of his wispy, white hair does its own thing. His easygoing style and blunt, free-flowing speech, which has sometimes landed him in trouble as governor, have reframed the national political conversation.

He's shifted the Democrats' line of attack on Republicans from Trump being a nebulous threat to democracy to a fight against "these really weird people." Harris and Democrats across the country seized on and echoed the concept of GOP weirdness.

"In the span of just seven days, he has done two things that have been really important for the Democratic coalition," Amara said. "He's elevated himself as a national name and he's helped fundamentally change how Democrats message and contrast with Trump."

Walz and 'his team were ready'

In his second term as governor, Walz had been tiptoeing out nationally with his work as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, making occasional appearances at out-of-state fundraisers and as a surrogate for Biden.

But when Biden dropped out, Walz stepped it up so sharply that his name immediately landed on short lists as a running mate for Harris. Former Republican Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said Walz has succeeded in doing what she advises for all ambitious politicians: Focus on your current job and be ready if opportunity arrives.

"He and his team were ready to rock," Koch said, adding that former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke's endorsement of Walz on X was a signal to her. "I thought, 'Somebody's working it, calling friends and calling in favors.'"

As a blue state Democrat, he still faces a challenge in getting the nod over swing state contenders such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Other possible prospects include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Even if he's passed over by Harris, supporters say Walz's newfound prominence places him on a higher rung as a recognizable surrogate for the top of the ticket, a fundraising headliner and a potential member of a presidential cabinet.

Walz has deflected questions on what he wants to do next, but he's kept his options open.

"Millions of Americans who did not know who the heck Tim Walz was before this, they certainly do now," Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said. "That opens up a lot of opportunities for him in terms of what he wants to do next for his political career."