When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz showed up MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” last week to criticize Donald Trump and JD Vance as “strangers” – part of a recent media blitz – the line of attack quickly gained traction among Democrats.
Chief among them was de facto presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who days later began using the same word in your campaign message against the Republican ticket, including at a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday.
The simple phrase quickly highlighted why Walz — a popular two-term Midwestern governor, former congressman, military veteran and former public school teacher — suddenly appeared on Harris’ short list of potential running mates.
But Walz’s allies, friends, and current and former colleagues note that his folksy savvy is just one of the attributes that make him uniquely suited to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
In addition to a relatable personal history, they say, Walz, 60, has a history of representing rural communities that is needed in the party, as well as a record of progressive political accomplishments.
These Democrats argue that Walz’s track record and resume would translate into broad appeal in the critical “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — something few other vice presidential candidates can offer.
“If you’re looking for balance in terms of life experience, and who’s going to bring that life experience to management with a whole host of credentials in solving problems for middle-class and American families, Tim Walz has a pretty good resume.” , said former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who became close friends with Walz during their time in Washington, D.C.
She added that Walz leads voters, especially in the upper Midwest, to think, “Hey, I know that guy” and to feel “a comfort level that you have with a shared human experience, a shared lived experience.”
A veteran, teacher and red district Democrat
Walz, a Nebraska native, enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was 17 and served for more than two decades in national and international deployments. He later worked as a social studies teacher and football coach in Mankato, about 80 miles south of Minneapolis, before switching to politics.
In 2006, he successfully ran for a congressional seat in a predominantly rural and agricultural district in southern Minnesota. He represented the 1st Congressional District for 12 years and was the only Democrat to represent what has typically been a red-leaning district — which encompasses the entire southern part of the state — in nearly 30 years.
“He is highly capable of reaching and connecting with voters in small towns and rural areas of the Midwest – that’s where he comes from, that’s where he was [representing] as a member of Congress,” said Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. “These are the voters that Democrats need to do better with, voters with whom we have to demonstrate that we understand what is going on in their lives and that we understand that we should be working to make their lives work better.”
Central to that capability, Smith and others said, is Walz’s service in the Army National Guard — at the time of his inauguration in 2007, he became the highest-ranking retired noncommissioned officer to serve in Congress — as well as his record in a Chamber advocating for veterans’ issues.
“Tim was actually a historic member of Congress,” said former congressman Patrick Murphy, who before serving as deputy secretary of the U.S. Army under President Barack Obama represented a district in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area. Murphy, a Democrat, entered Congress the same year as Walz and the two shared a small apartment as freshmen.
“He was my partner in repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and authored most of the post-9/11 GI Bill,” Murphy said. “And he was winning [in] a congressional district that Democrats typically don’t win.”
Harris’ current vice presidential list is filled with governors as she seeks to potentially balance the ticket with a voice outside of Washington. Walz has built a robust network of influence across multiple states in her role as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a role she assumed last year.
But he also has 12 years of congressional experience that could be leveraged in the White House.
“Think about what Joe Biden brought to Obama. In essence, all of these relationships in Washington,” said Rep. Angie Craig, Democrat of Minnesota, who is openly defending for Harris to select Walz. “He has all these relationships with members of Congress, including on the other side.”
Progressive and working-class appeal
Minnesota has been consistently Democratic at the state level in recent elections, but it is a place where Republicans are competitive.
Still, Walz oversaw the enactment of a set of progressive priorities as governor, especially during his second term, with Democrats controlling both chambers of the Legislature.
He signed laws protecting the right to abortion, legalizing recreational marijuana, restricting access to weapons It is providing legal refuge for transgender youth whose access to gender-affirming and other medical care has been restricted elsewhere.
“He has progressive prescriptions to bring broader appeal across the Democratic base,” Craig said.
Walz also enacted several laws aimed at farmers and the working class, including bills that expanded paid family leave, banned most non-competitive agreements, provided universal school meals for students, expanded public child care support programs and capped the price of insulin in Minnesota (three years before Biden did this nationally).
“If you want to bring up examples of where Democrats have governed successfully, especially around economic and family issues, he has a great story to tell,” said Jeff Blodgett, a St.-based Democratic strategist for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone and was the state director for both Obama campaigns.
Walz “would give the ticket some real weight in terms of the economic arguments they want to make to voters,” Blodgett said.
Reinforcing the ‘blue wall’
Of course, the prospect of putting Walz in the running with Harris has some drawbacks. He is not well known nationally and may not bring the same youth or energy as other potential running mates.
He’s also not from a swing state like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who could swing the presidential election.
But Walz’s allies say he can still help the Democratic ticket in other battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that are home to many of the same types of voters he won over in Minnesota.
“He says farm, suburban and urban,” joked Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who has publicly urged Harris to select Walz.
She and others noted that Walz is not reluctant to appear on Fox News — a recent appearance even made a complaint of Trump – to reach more conservative voters.
Some Democrats said Walz could also counter Trump’s efforts to make more inroads into the Rust Belt with his choice of Vance as his running mate.
“What I do know is that people like J.D. Vance don’t know anything about small-town America,” Walz said on “Morning Joe” on Tuesday. “My town had 400 inhabitants, 24 children in my graduating class, 12 were cousins. And he gets it all wrong.
“It’s not about hate. It’s not about falling apart,” he said. “The golden rule is to mind your own business.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
