Who Is Tim Walz? Everything to Know About Kamala Harris' VP Pick in 7 Clicks

Vice President Kamala Harris introduced former House member and two-term Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate during the campaign rally in Philadelphia on August 6.

Harris informed Walz of her decision via video call, a source told CNN. The VP pick outshined the politicians on the shortlist, which included Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

“We’ve got 91 days. We’ll sleep when we’re dead,” Walz told their supporters at the rally. “Over those 91 days, and every day in the White House, I’ll have Vice President Harris’ back every single day – and we’ll have yours.”

Walz, 60, was originally from Nebraska before moving to Minnesota in 1996. At 17, he was recruited into the Army National Guard and served for 24 years, eventually serving as a command sergeant major. His father, who encouraged him to join the volunteer force after serving in the Korean War, died from lung cancer two years after his enlistment.

A graduate of Chadron State College, Walz went on to receive his master's from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

He then worked as a high school geography teacher and coached high school football. In addition, he worked as a faculty adviser for the first g----straight alliance chapter in 1999.

According to the Minnesota Governor's Office website, Tim met his wife, Gwen Walz, while teaching in Nebraska and married her in 1994. The pair share two children, Hope and Gus, who were conceived through IVF and fertility treatments.

Tim joined Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 to be the campaign’s county coordinator as well as a district coordinator of Vets for Kerry.

He said he was inspired to make the move after some of his students were questioned by a security at George W. Bush's campaign rally for having a Kerry sticker on a wallet. Angered by what happened, Tim participated in the campaign and eventually ran against a GOP incumbent member of Congress.

Two years later, Tim began his political run as the U.S. Representative for the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota and served six terms. He beat six-term Representative Gil Gutknecht at the time.

On November 6, 2018, Tim was elected governor of Minnesota, making him the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in the U.S. House, according to Politico. He was reelected in 2022.

In 1995, then-31-year-old Tim failed a sobriety test after he was stopped for driving at 96 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone. He paid a $200 fine and pleaded guilty to reckless driving, but he learned his lesson and reportedly stopped drinking after the incident.

“When we’re running against the generic Republican, our races are always really close, but there’s no such thing [as a generic Republican]. These guys are weird. Once they start running, their weirdness shows up, and especially with the nominee on the other side. I don’t think it’s that surprising," Tim told Politico in 2023.

However, he later clarified that his comments were about Donald Trump and his VP Pick, J.D. Vance.