Tim Walz will give the most important speech of his career at the DNC. He has to show that Harris made a good choice. It’s not an easy task.
Washington, DC – The 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), the Democratic Party’s nominating convention for the upcoming US electiongoes into its third round on Wednesday evening (21 August). In addition to former US President Bill Clinton, the stage in Chicago belongs primarily to Tim Walz. For the vice presidential candidate of the Democrats and governor of the US state of Minnesota, a lot is at stake. It is the biggest appearance of his political career – and a test run for the tough election campaign in the coming months. Walz must prove that the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris rightly chose him as her running mate.
Before Harris chose the governor of Minnesota as her candidate earlier this month, most Americans knew little or nothing about Walz. In a July survey by the polling institute Ipsos, only 13 percent of respondents said they knew enough about Walz to be able to form an opinion about him. But despite his relative obscurity among the majority of Americans, Walz is no newcomer to politics. From 2007 to 2019 he was a member of the US House of Representatives as a Democratic representative for the 1st congressional district of the state of Minnesota; he has been the governor of Minnesota since January 2019. The speech in Chicago will now give him the opportunity to introduce himself to a wider audience of voters.
Tim Walz has to show that he would be a good vice president – Can Harris beat Trump in the US election?
Politically, Walz is often considered a progressive force, although at the beginning of his political career he was considered to be more of a “moderate” – that is, neither particularly liberal nor conservative. But since his time as governor, he has represented more left-wing positions for US democracy. During this time, he signed a law introducing free school meals. Under his leadership, Minnesota also legalized marijuana for recreational use, increased tax credits for low-income families, and passed a law that provides up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for those caring for a newborn or sick family member.
In line with his party, Walz is a supporter of abortion rights. Almost immediately after the Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned in 2022, Walz signed an executive order ensuring that Minnesota would provide legal protections to people from other states seeking reproductive health services in Minnesota. Other measures to ensure abortion rights followed. Walz has also taken a progressive stance on gun ownership—at least since the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Following that, Walz vowed to do everything he could to combat gun violence.
Republicans under Trump see Walz as too progressive – but Harris’ vice president wants to be down-to-earth
The Democrats themselves, however, are resisting the claim that Walz is a thoroughly progressive politician, as this provides the Republicans with a lot of scope for attack. He represented a rural, agricultural district in the United States and opposed stricter environmental protection measures during the Obama administration, according to the US website The Hill“I think that the attacks on him because he is progressive are absurd. No one who knows Tim Walz thinks he is a progressive. He shouts moderately as soon as he enters the room, and the republican are upset because he buys school lunches for children?” Democratic Representative Seth Moulton told the portal.
Who is Tim Walz?
Tim Walz was born and raised in West Point, Nebraska, in 1964. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Army National Guard before attending Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, where he graduated with a degree in social sciences in 1989. He began his career as a teacher in Nebraska, but left the state in 1996 after being charged with driving under the influence. He and his wife then moved to Mankato, Minnesota, and he began teaching social studies and geography at Mankato West High School. In 2001, Walz earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University in Mankato.
But regardless of his political leanings, Walz has an ace up his sleeve when it comes to cultivating a positive image: likeability. The internet, where he has captured the imagination of his fans in recent weeks, is well disposed towards him. His supporters have flooded social media platforms with memes portraying Walz as the father figure America needs right now. This fits with the nickname “Coach Walz” with which Harris often introduces her running mate to remind voters of his background as a teacher and football coach. And with the down-to-earth image that Walz likes to give himself when he talks about his childhood and youth in rural Nebraska.
Harris and Walz prepare for US election – “A fight for our freedoms” and against Trump
In the first two days of the party convention, the Democratic vice-candidate reinforced the image of the “cheerful fighter,” writes the British Guardian“In the next few days we will show what democracy looks like – it is inclusive,” Walz said at a breakfast with the delegation in Wisconsin on Monday (August 19), according to the report. The program for Wednesday, meanwhile, has a different motto. It is “A fight for our freedoms” – a message that Harris is promoting in her election campaign. She has repeatedly stressed that basic freedoms are at stake in the US election. Former US President Barack Obama also struck a similar note in his speech at the DNC on Tuesday (August 20).
Walz could use his speech to highlight how he has embodied this during his term as governor – and to point out his political successes. But to be truly successful, he has to do more, at least if you believe Todd Belt. The professor at George Washington University believes it is important that the candidates present their program, as he told the website US News “The election is about the future, and Harris and Walz must explain how an America under a Harris administration will improve the lives of voters“, said Todd. Walz will have the opportunity to do so at the DNC. And according to all forecasts, he will accept the nomination as Harris’s running mate for the US election. (tpn)
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