Minnesota governor Tim Walz became a household name overnight, when presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced to the world on Tuesday that he would be the one to join her on the Democratic ticket as her running mate.
Although he’s been involved in U.S. politics for almost 20 years, most Americans likely aren’t familiar with Walz. Tuned-in Democratic voters, however, have reacted to the vice presidential pick with enthusiasm—both online and at a packed rally last night in Philadelphia. By the time the event kicked off, the Harris campaign said it had taken in more than $20 million in grassroots donations since making the announcement, according to the Associated Press.
A former congressman, high school teacher, and National Guardsman, Walz brings an abundance of experience and self-effacing Midwestern charm to the fight against Republican former president Donald Trump—as well as sturdy progressive bona fides. Though his political career began in a conservative-leaning district and he built a reputation for bipartisanship in the U.S. House of Representatives, Walz has consistently supported the kind of forward-thinking policies voters are hoping for from Harris. The issues in question are of vital importance to younger voters, who are a crucial bloc to persuade if Democrats want to defeat Trump and his own running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, in November.
Read on for our primer on where Tim Walz stands on big issues facing American voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Reproductive health
In a country still reeling from the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Walz’s record on abortion rights signals he’ll be a veep that Americans with uteruses can count on. He has a 100 percent approval rating from Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL), and in 2023 signed a bill to preserve abortion access in Minnesota, even if the 1995 state supreme court ruling making it legal is ever overturned. He also signed legislation that established Minnesota as a refuge for reproductive care, protecting patients and providers from being prosecuted by states with more restrictive abortion laws.
Republicans, of course, have not limited themselves to attacking abortion rights, but have also pursued “personhood” laws giving frozen embryos the same rights as human beings—abruptly creating uncertainty about the legality of once-unobjectionable procedures like in vitro fertilization. IVF is a subject close to Walz’s heart, as he and his wife conceived their first child thanks to fertilization treatments at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic.
LGBTQ+ rights
As a geography teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School, Walz also served as faculty adviser for the school’s first gay–straight alliance group when it was founded in 1999. As governor, he has continued to be a reliable ally to queer people in Minnesota, signing bills banning conversion therapy in the state and protecting anyone receiving or providing gender-affirming care within its borders. He supported same-sex marriage in 2006 in his first run for Congress, where he voted for bills to prevent hate crimes and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Climate
In 2023, Walz signed a slew of bills intended to combat global warming, including one law that says the state must run entirely on clean, renewable energy by 2040. As The New York Times notes, that timeline means Minnesota would make the transition even before California. Other legislation he’s signed makes it easier to get permits for renewable energy projects and provides tax rebates on electric vehicle purchases. One program even gives Minnesotans up to $1,500 toward the purchase of electric bicycles.
Family and education
It’s no surprise a former teacher would sign a bill providing free breakfast and lunch for students at schools throughout his state, no matter their family’s income level. And assuming a President Harris continues her push to provide child care and paid leave for Americans, Walz will bring valuable experience to the table, having signed legislation that requires paid family and medical leave for Minnesotans starting in 2026. He also signed off on a program that makes public college free for low-income students and added $2.2 billion to K–12 spending in the state.
Labor and the economy
Historically, Walz has backed policies that prioritize workers’ interests over corporate employers’. In Congress, he voted against legislation that would bail out financial institutions and automakers during the 2008 economic crisis, saying he didn’t believe they did enough for average Americans. As governor, along with requiring better paid leave, he has also banned non-compete agreements in Minnesota and increased worker safety requirements. The United Auto Workers and other major American unions were quick to endorse Walz after Harris announced her selection.
Criminal justice
When protests took place in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in 2020, Republicans criticized Walz for responding too slowly to outbreaks of violence. As Reuters notes, however, civil rights advocates praised the governor for assigning the state attorney general, Keith Ellison, to lead the prosecution against Officer Derek Chauvin, saying Ellison’s appointment was crucial to securing Chauvin’s conviction. Walz also signed a police reform bill in 2020, which supporters said constituted the most sweeping criminal justice reforms in Minnesota’s history.
Last year, Walz signed a bill restoring the right to vote to people convicted of felonies in Minnesota who had completed their sentences. He has also overseen the legalization of recreational cannabis throughout the state, including creating a process to expunge or amend lesser cannabis-related convictions. In an all-too-rare move, earlier this year Walz named two former public defenders to Minnesota’s supreme court, as well. (Former prosecutors typically greatly outnumber public defenders on state courts.)
Gun control
In another unusual shift, Walz went from being a strong supporter of gun rights to advocating for stricter gun control laws—something Democrats will surely support. After the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead, he denounced the National Rifle Association while running for governor and said he’d donated the funds he’d taken from the NRA to charity. Under Walz, Minnesota has expanded background checks and established a red-flag law that allows a court to take firearms away from someone deemed to be at risk of hurting themselves or others.