Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been selected by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate in the 2024 presidential election, sources confirm to NBC News.
Walz, who retired from the House of Representatives after being elected Minnesota’s governor in 2019, has leapt onto the political scene in recent months with his fierce criticisms of former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
His most famed contribution to the current political climate was the introduction of the adjective “weird,” which he used during an MSNBC interview to describe Republican politicians who he said misrepresented small-town values.
“We do not like what has happened where we can’t even go to Thanksgiving dinner with our uncle because you end in some weird fight that is unnecessary,” he said. “It’s true. These guys are just weird.”
The “weird” adjective has become a source of heated debate, with Republicans and Democrats slinging the term at one another as it became a viral hit on multiple social media platforms.
Walz’s folksy approach to politics has also endeared him to voters, and he’ll aim to appeal to voters in the industrial Midwest, especially in battleground states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, as well as key locations like Nevada and Pennsylvania.
A retired teacher, Walz served in the Air National Guard for more than two decades, retiring in 2005.
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He ran for Congress for the first time in 2006 and won a seat in the House, serving on the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs committees, the latter of which he served on as a ranking member.
He was elected governor of Minnesota in 2019, and oversaw the state’s response to a wide variety of challenges, including the shooting death of George Floyd in 2020.
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Walz was one of six finalists identified by NBC News who were tabbed to go through the vetting process as Harris’ running mate. That group included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
It is expected that Harris’ running mate will appear with her at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Tuesday. From there, the vice president and her running mate will travel to Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada for a series of rallies to drum up support ahead of the Democratic National Convention later this month in Chicago.
While the DNC typically is the stage for candidates to officially be nominated for the ticket, this year’s festivities will be different after Democratic Party officials expressed concerns about an Ohio law requiring candidates to submit their names for the ballot by Aug. 7.
The Ohio legislature passed a bill altering that timeline, but Democrats opted not to risk legal action and conducted a virtual roll call to nominate Harris over the weekend. It is expected that when Harris names her running mate that the candidate will be accepted by the DNC chair to expedite the nomination process.
Both candidates will participate in a ceremonial vote when the DNC kicks off in Chicago on Aug. 19. Harris’ running mate is expected to address the convention on Aug. 21, with the vice president taking the stage on Aug. 22.
