'The kind of vice-president America deserves,’ are the words Kamala Harris used to introduce her newly selected running mate Tim Walz at a rally in Philadelphia yesterday. After having sixteen days to pick a vice-president, Harris went for what many saw as the 'dark horse' – Walz, a Minnesota governor, isn’t as well known as the other candidates, and previously worked as a social studies teacher, high school football coach and a National Guard veteran.
'Thank you for bringing back the joy,' she told him, to which Walz replied ‘We’ve got 91 days […] My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.’ Their speeches were met with applause and cheers from the crowd, reflecting a sense of optimism for the Democratic campaign ahead of the November US presidential elections.
Both Harris and Walz are vocal advocates for reproductive technology, which is shaping up to be one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming election. In his first speech as Harris' running mate, Walz shared his stance on IVF, which has had personal implications for his family.
‘This gets personal for me and my family,’ he told the Philadelphia rally. ‘When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments. And I remember praying every night for a call for good news. The pit in my stomach when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn't worked. So this wasn't by chance that when we welcomed my daughter into the world, we named her Hope.’
In March, he told the Star Tribune that he and his wife Gwen underwent IVF procedures for seven years before Gwen fell pregnant with Hope, 23, and Gus, 17. ‘I said, “Not again,”’ Walz told the paper. ‘She said, “No, I’m pregnant.” It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope.’
He started talking about his family’s fertility journey earlier this year, after the Alabama Supreme Court declared that embryos are people, and therefore shouldn't be destroyed, in a controversial ruling, jeopardising access to IVF.
All this marks a refreshing change from the vitriol being put forward by some Republicans. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, has previously voted against the Right to IVF Act, which looked to protect accessibility and affordability of IVF. A resurfaced interview from 2021 shows Vance making misogynistic comments in an attempt to undermine Harris’ credentials. He stated that the country was being run ‘by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable about their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable too.’
But Walz' IVF journey makes him the perfect person to rebut Vance's retrograde views and fight for the need to protect IVF access and reproductive rights for women. On World IVF Day in June he posted in response to Vance voting against the Right to IVF Act: 'Even if you’ve never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has. When Gwen and I were having trouble getting pregnant, the anxiety and frustration blotted out the sun,' he wrote. 'JD Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others.'
So, what else do we know about Walz, who is his wife Gwen and where does he stand on other key issues? Here is everything we know...
Who is Tim Walz?
Originally from Nebraska, Walz’s career began when he enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was 17. He served in the volunteer force for 24-years. He also has teaching degrees under his belt and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.
Walz began his political career in by volunteering for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, and he was elected as Minnesota's governor in 2018. He has previously spoken about how his upbringings shaped his politics, admitting that Social Security survivor benefits sustained his mother, and how the GI Bill funded his college education.
How old is Tim Walz?
Tim Walz is 60 years old.
Is Tim Walz married?
Tim Walz is married to Gwen Walz, who is reported to be popular in local political circles. The couple met when they were both working at a school in Nebraska, where Gwen was teaching English and Tim was teaching Geography and Social Studies. In a 2019 interview with Star Tribune, Gwen recalled the story of their first date where they went to see a movie followed by a trip to Hardee’s - a US fast food chain. According to Gwen, when Tim leaned in for a kiss she said no, to which he replied, ‘That’s fine, but you should know I’m going to marry you.’ Fast forward and the pair were married in 1994 and now have two children, Hope, 23, and Gus, 17. Together, Gwen and Tim started the Educational Travel Adventures program, which coordinated summer trips to China for their high school students.
Gwen is passionate about prison reform, and she has reportedly been working with the Bard Prison Initiative for years to provide incarcerated people with access to college courses. She has also given public speeches in favour of restoring voting rights to offenders and gun control legislation.
Tim has previously been outspoken about his wife’s support for his career in the past. Following his first state election win in November 2018, he wrote on Facebook ‘To my wife Gwen – Minnesota’s next First Lady - how can I ever thank you enough? I’m grateful to you for keeping it all together for us and walking with me on this journey. I love you.’ He also called marrying Gwen the ‘best’ thing that ever happened to him in a 2018 bio when he was running for governor in Minnesota.
What are Tim Walz's political views?
Alongside IVF, Walz has positioned himself as an ally of thepro-choice movement, notably by enacting a state law that enshrined 'reproductive freedom' into Minnesota's constitution. LGBTQ+ organizations have also praised Harris for picking Walz, who helped start the first Gay Straight Alliance in a school where he coached football. In 2021, he signed an executive order banning conversion therapy. He has overseen gun control reform, reportedly after being influenced by his daughter to come out in favour of an assaults weapons ban after a wave of school shootings
When he won a second term as Minnesota’s governor in November 2022, he told Minnesotans they had 'made a conscious choice … to reject negative, divisive politics and choose the whole path of each and every one of us to be the best we possibly can.'