Tim Walz
Tim Walz is the 41st governor of Minnesota, having taken office in January 2019 after being elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he previously represented Minnesota's First Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2006 to 2018. Born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska, Walz served nearly 25 years in the Army National Guard, achieving the rank of command sergeant major while also pursuing a career in education. He earned a degree in social science education and later a master’s degree in educational leadership, teaching at various schools before entering politics.
As governor, Walz has championed progressive policies, including education funding, gun control reform, and a statewide paid leave program. His administration gained national attention during the racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd, leading to significant police reform measures. In 2024, he was nominated as Kamala Harris's running mate in her presidential campaign. Walz is recognized for his approachable demeanor and commitment to bipartisan cooperation, reflecting his Midwestern values. He resides in St. Paul with his wife and children.
Tim Walz
Politician
- Born: April 6, 1964
- Place of Birth: West Point, Nebraska
Tim Walz was elected the forty-first governor of Minnesota in 2018 and took office the following year. A Democrat (affiliated with Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), he won reelection in 2022. Walz previously represented Minnesota's First Congressional District, which extended across southern Minnesota from the South Dakota border to the Wisconsin border, in the US House of Representatives from 2006 to 2018. In 2024, he was selected as Kamala Harris's running mate in her failed presidential bid in November of that year.
Education and Military Career
Timothy James Walz was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska, to a public-school administrator and a community activist. After graduating from Butte High School, in a senior class of only twenty-five students (including twelve Walz cousins), he entered the Army National Guard at age seventeen. He remained there for almost a quarter-century, achieving the rank of command sergeant major. While serving in the military, Walz also pursued a teaching career, inspired by a brief stint in the mid-1980s on an Indian reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
Upon earning a BS degree in social science education from Nebraska's Chadron State College in 1989, Walz was awarded a fellowship to teach in China, through a Harvard University program. He spent a year as an educator there before returning to the US in 1990. From 1991 to 1996, he taught in public schools in Alliance, Nebraska. He moved to Mankato, Minnesota, in 1996, and found a teaching position at Mankato West High School, where Walz taught geography and English in addition to coaching basketball and football. In 2001, Walz received his master's degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University.
In 2003, Walz returned to active duty; he served nine months in Italy during the Iraq War, although he never saw combat. He officially retired from the National Guard in 2005, after twenty-four years of service. Walz's involvement in politics began around that same time, following a visit to Mankato by incumbent US president George W. Bush when several of his students, who carried campaign material from Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry, were barred from visiting with the president by Secret Service agents. "It was just so divisive," he told G. R. Anderson Jr. for the Minnesota Post (31 Oct. 2008). "I don't know if it was an epiphany or a final push."
Political Career
In 2006, Walz made a run for the US House seat representing Minnesota's First Congressional District. He secured victory with 53 percent of the vote against Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He was reelected in 2008, defeating his Republican opponent, Brian Davis, with 63 percent of the vote.
Walz sat on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He also served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Walz opposed the war in Iraq from the start, and in his first month in the House he delivered a radio address in which he criticized President Bush's proposal for a troop surge. He later voted in support of investigating Bush for fabricating information leading to the war.
In 2008, Walz voted against the $700 million bailout known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), and another bill specifically geared toward the auto industry, arguing that the bills offered no protection for taxpayers and no assurance of success. In January 2009, he voted against releasing a second batch of TARP funds, arguing that there was still no evidence that the program was effective.
Walz was reelected in every congressional election through 2016. During his tenure in the House, he introduced more than seventy-five bills and resolutions, most of which focused on veterans' issues, agriculture, and energy. Among them was the successful Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, which barred members of Congress and staff from insider trading. On other legislation, Walz supported embryonic stem cell research, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At times, however, Walz broke ranks with the national Democratic Party on issues such as access to firearms, refugee resettlement, and land and water regulations. He also sought to foster bipartisanship through legislative co-sponsorships and personal engagement over shared interests such as running.
Run for Governor
Walz ran for governor of Minnesota on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party ticket in 2018. He campaigned on funding infrastructure and transportation projects, indexing education spending to inflation, raising the minimum wage, and allowing anyone to buy into the state-run health insurance program. Following the high-profile Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, he came out in favor of universal background checks for gun purchases, bans on bump stocks, and a ban on gun purchases by those on the no-fly list. Walz defeated Republican candidate Jeff Johnson, 53.8 percent to 42.4 percent, in the November 2018 general election and was sworn in on January 7, 2019.
As governor, Walz maintained his reputation as a liberal with an independent streak and knack for bipartisan compromise. Among other positions, he supported the legalization of recreational cannabis (marijuana), with government regulation. In May 2020, Minnesota was thrust into the national spotlight after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by police in Minneapolis, sparking massive racial justice protests across the country. Walz immediately expressed concern about the incident and said it would be investigated thoroughly, but he was criticized by some observers for his response to the civil unrest as Minneapolis faced destructive riots. He then called a special state legislative session to examine policing practices and accountability. That July, the Minnesota legislature passed a sweeping police reform bill, which Walz quickly signed into law.
Walz ran for reelection as governor in 2022. He easily won the Democratic primary and faced Republican Scott Jensen as his main challenger in the general election. He enjoyed relatively strong approval ratings throughout the campaign, and in November 2022, he defeated Jensen with over 52 percent of the vote. During that term, Walz passed legislation to enact a statewide paid leave program, fund education and childcare, and restrict gun laws. In March 2023, he signed a bill to provide free meals for all students at participating Minnesota schools.
In August 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced that she had chosen Walz to run as her vice president, and he was soon launched from a little-known governor onto the national stage. Praised for his friendly, down-to-earth nature and Midwestern values, he quickly made an impression on the campaign trail as Harris's running mate. After Republican opponent Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, Walz returned to Minnesota to complete his second term as governor.
Personal Life
Walz married Gwen Whipple, a teacher, in 1994. They had two children, Hope and Gus. The family lived in Mankato before moving to St. Paul. Walz and his wife founded Educational Travel Adventures, which provided high-school students with educational trips to China.
Bibliography
Anderson, G. R. "Importance of Being Earnest: Few Attacks in the Walz-Davis Race." Minnesota Post, 31 Oct. 2008, www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/10/importance-being-earnest-few-attacks-walz-davis-race/. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
Bierschbach, Briana, and Jessie Van Berkel. "Minnesota Legislature Wrapping Work on One of the Most Consequential Sessions in State History." Star Tribune, 20 May 2023, www.startribune.com/minnesota-legislature-wraps-work-on-one-of-the-most-consequential-sessions-in-state-history-tax/600276542. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
Freedman, Samuel G. "Congressman, Teacher, Soldier, and He’s Back in Town for a Visit." The New York Times, Apr. 25, 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/education/25education.html. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
"Governor Tim Walz." Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, mn.gov/governor/about-gov/timwalz/. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
Mathur, Anusha. "55 Things to Know About Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ Pick for VP." Politico, 6 Aug. 2024, www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/08/06/tim-walz-55-things-harris-vp-00172790. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
Smith, Mitch. "Walz Has Faced Criticism for His Response to George Floyd Protests." The New York Times, 6 Aug. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/us/tim-walz-george-floyd-criticism.html. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
"Tim Walz." Ballotpedia, 2024, ballotpedia.org/Tim‗Walz. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
Van Berkel, Jessie. "What's Next for Gov. Tim Walz After Failed Vice Presidential Bid?" The Minnesota Star Tribune, 6 Nov. 2024, www.startribune.com/whats-next-for-gov-tim-walz-after-failed-vice-presidential-bid/601176684. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.