Meet Tim Walz, the VP pick of Kamala Harris

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. He formally accepted his nomination to be the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in a keynote address Wednesday. The relatively unknown Minnesota governor brings an earthy, Midwestern vibe to Harris’s surging campaign against Donald Trump.

Here’s all you need to know about the 60-year-old governor and self-described “Midwest dad”.

A native of Nebraska, Walz was a geography teacher and assistant football coach at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota before he ran for Congress and upset Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht in 2006.

Tim Walz is said to be a centrist, known for his work on veterans issues.

Walz was elected governor in 2018, and was reelected in 2022 in an election that gave Democrats full control of state government.

As per reports, Tim Walz has $127,629 as his annual salary. He reportedly declined a salary raise this year. He has no real estate and his only assets are his pensions – he has state and teacher pensions.Walz retired from Minnesota National Guard in 2005 with 24 total years of service to run for Congress. The Harris campaign initially referred to Walz as a “retired Command Sergeant Major.” Walz has described himself that way, too, over the years. The campaign has corrected its official biography for him to say just that he “served” at that rank.

Critics said Walz was portraying himself as someone who served in a combat zone, when he hadn’t. The campaign later acknowledged that Walz misspoke back then.

Walz’s family Tim and Gwen Walz got married in 1994. They met when they were both teachers in Nebraska and later moved to her native Minnesota, where they both worked at Mankato West High School. Former pupils remember them as allies and advocates for LGBTQ+ students. As Minnesota’s first lady, she has championed gun safety legislation, education and criminal justice reform.

They have a 23-year-old daughter, Hope, and a 17-year-old son, Gus.

Walz strongly opposes restrictions on in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which is opposed by some anti-abortion groups because it can require the destruction of embryos, because of his family’s experience.