By Khylie Inthiratvongsy and Lucy Cade-Galvez
Vice President Harris and Tim Walz visit abortion clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
While many focus on the importance of voting for the next president of the United States, it can be easy to forget that you are voting for a vice president too. When Kamala Harris announced Tim Walz as her running mate, many did not know much about him. Walz works to protect reproductive rights, helps working families by lowering taxes, and helps work towards protecting our environment.
Walz is relatively new to the political scene. In his early life, he enlisted in the National Guard. By the time he retired, he had served for 24 years, retiring as the highest-ranking enlisted National Guard soldier in Minnesota.
He went on to become a high school social studies teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School for two decades. A notable accomplishment is leading the Mankato West football team to their first state championship win. While teaching there, he met his wife, Gwen, who also worked at the school.
Walz and his wife had fertility issues when trying to start their family which led them to use IVF (in vitro fertilization) and IUI (intrauterine insemination) to help them conceive. This opened the gateway into why Walz wants to ensure that everyone has access to reproductive healthcare.
Tim Walz chose to run because his students had told him to. With his passion for helping others gain access to healthcare and make life easier for working families, Walz was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. During his term he has passed laws and bills that have protected the reproductive rights of women, a prominent one was the one he signed after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision. The bill made Minnesota the first state to pass a bill protecting women’s reproductive rights.
This is Walz’s first time running for federal office. According to an article from NBC News, Harris took a risk nominating Walz as vice president because nobody, including her, knew that much about him. When it was time for Harris to meet with her top three contenders, she concluded she had the best personal connection with Walz. She also believed in full confidence that he would not let his personal opinions and ambitions get in the way of their relationship. All of these traits were contributing factors to why Walz was ultimately chosen.
“We also protected reproductive freedom because in Minnesota we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make,” Walz said during his vice presidential nominee acceptance speech. “And even if we wouldn’t make those same choices for ourselves. We’ve got a golden rule. Mind your own damn business.”
Something Walz strives to do is help middle-class and working families. He has handed out multiple rebate checks to middle-class families, students, seniors, and workers. These checks were given to people if they had paid too much in taxes or medical bills. He has also helped almost three-quarters of seniors in Minnesota by taking away state taxes on social security. All of these tax reductions have helped families tremendously.
Besides helping people, Walz is also passionate about helping the environment. To help push for electrical vehicle use in Minnesota, he added a tax credit to anyone who purchases an electric car. In 2023 he turned 40 climate initiatives into laws. All of these steps are part of his goal to have all of Minnesota use 100% clean energy by 2040.
All of these philosophies are big parts of how he wants to impact the country if he becomes Vice President.
