Minnesota Governor Tim Walz won the veepstakes, as he was selected August 6 by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to be her running mate, according to multiple media outlets.
Harris confirmed the selection a couple of hours later. According to the White House, President Joe Biden spoke to both Harris and Walz.
"This morning, the president and vice president spoke on the phone ahead of her official announcement that she selected Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential nominee. The president also spoke with Governor Walz to congratulate him on his selection," the White House stated.
Walz, 60, hit the campaign trail with Harris Tuesday in Philadelphia. The two are scheduled to make campaign appearances in several battleground states this week. They will formally accept the nomination when the Democrats hold their convention in Chicago beginning August 19.
In Walz, Harris found a governing partner who's progressive and brings a down-home charm to the ticket. He's also not afraid to go after Republican former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. It was Walz who first started using the word "weird" to describe the Republican ticket, to great effect among Harris supporters and others. The media has picked up on that messaging in recent weeks, reporting that Trump said he is not weird.
Walz is a former U.S. Army National Guard member and a former teacher.
According to his bio on the Minnesota governor's website, he was first elected governor in 2018 and won reelection in 2022. Accomplishments from his time as governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers.
Prior to being elected governor, Walz served five terms in Congress.
LGBTQ groups pleased
LGBTQ organizations reacted positively to the selection of Walz. The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBTQ rights organization, stated that Walz is a "pro-equality leader."
"There is no doubt — Kamala Harris has electrified the nation and breathed new hope into the race," stated HRC President Kelley Robinson. "Her pick of Governor Walz sends a message that a Harris-Walz administration will be committed to advancing equality and justice for all."
HRC noted that Walz has been a longtime champion of the LGBTQ community. As a history teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School in 1999, he sponsored his school's first gay-straight alliance student group. Walz opposed efforts to ban same-sex marriage in the state constitution.
While serving in Congress, Walz co-sponsored legislation to repeal the military's homophobic "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy that was finally repealed in 2010. In 2009, he voted for the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and introduced legislation to protect LGBTQ service members from discrimination in benefits.
As governor, in 2015, Walz signed an executive order banning conversion therapy for minors in the Gopher State.
Last year he signed a package of bills designed to make the state a refuge for those seeking gender-affirming care and abortions, according to MPR News. He also signed a bill that expanded his executive order on conversion therapy to include vulnerable adults, the outlet reported.
Gay U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who initially had been under consideration by Harris as a possible VP pick, called Walz "an exceptionally effective governor — and also great to work with," in a post on X praising his selection.
"I'm excited for what his Midwestern voice, military experience, and common-sense values will bring to our winning ticket, and for everything the Harris-Walz administration will deliver for Americans," wrote Buttigieg, who had run against Biden to be their party's presidential nominee in 2020.
Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, and its affiliate Silver State Equality in Nevada, praised Harris' decision.
Tony Hoang, EQCA executive director, and Andre C. Wade, Silver State Equality state director, stated that in Walz, Harris has chosen a "staunch LGBTQ+ ally."
"Vice President Harris' own record on LGBTQ+ issues — including being one of the first statewide elected officials to perform same-sex marriages — is exemplary, and the selection of Tim Walz to be her vice president sends a message that her administration would continue the gains we have made under President Biden's leadership, and undoubtedly be one of the most pro-LGBTQ+ administrations in history," they stated.
Since Biden decided last month not to seek reelection and endorsed Harris, his vice president, she has reset the presidential race. CBS News reported Sunday that she has a 1-point edge nationally — something Biden never had (he was down by 5 points when he left the race) — and Harris and Trump are tied across collective battleground states.
The percentage of Democrats who say they'll "definitely vote" has risen to its highest point this year, CBS reported. That narrows the partisan "turnout gap" that's been seen throughout the campaign.
And today much higher numbers of Black voters say they'll vote, compared to July when Biden was the nominee, the network reported.
Harris would be the first Black female president, the first South Asian president, and the first woman president if she were elected. A former junior U.S. senator and attorney general for California, Harris started her political career by defeating San Francisco's incumbent district attorney in 2003; in all three positions she was the first female woman of color elected to them.
Last week, during an appearance at the National Black Journalists Association, Trump used racist language to describe Harris, saying he didn't know "when she turned Black."
Harris clinched the votes to become the Democratic Party's nominee August 2 after a virtual meeting of the Democratic National Committee. That became official Monday, August 5, according to party Chair Jaime Harrison.
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