Readers Say
“Military chops, deep middle class roots, experienced politician, great sense of humor, and good chemistry with Harris. He checks all the boxes,” one respondent to our poll said.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appears with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate in her 2024 presidential campaign on Tuesday, a move Boston.com readers largely support.
Walz, 60, grew up in the small town of West Point, Nebraska and was a social studies teacher, football coach, and union member at Mankato West High School in Minnesota before entering politics.
He served six terms in Congress starting in 2006, where he was a champion of veterans issues. Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard and rose to the rank of command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military.
He ran for governor in 2018 and during his first term worked with a legislature that was split between a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-led Senate.
But the bipartisan cooperation he had established unraveled early in his second year when the pandemic hit, and Republicans criticized Walz for restrictions that included lockdowns, closing schools and shuttering businesses. He came under fire by Republicans again for his response to the unrest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
Despite the criticisms, Walz has made many inroads as governor, such as sweeping protections for abortion rights, new protections for trans rights, tax credits for families with children to address childhood poverty, and universal free school breakfasts and lunches for all students, regardless of family income. Walz and other Democrats also enacted a paid family and medical leave program, legalized recreational marijuana for adults and made it easier to vote.
We asked readers if Walz was the right choice for Harris’s vice presidential pick. The majority (66%) of the 568 respondents to our poll said yes, he was the right candidate. Just over a third of readers disapproved of her choice.
Is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz the right choice for Kamala Harris’s VP pick?
“With his military background and school teacher-football coach stride, he will appeal to those Democrat and swing voters who may view Harris as elite or aloof,” Ken S. from Cambridge said, adding that Walz is “a Midwestern yin to Harris’s coastal yang.”
Others praised Walz for his “no-nonsense type of leadership” and for bringing “big Midwestern dad energy” to the 2024 election campaign.
“He brings a moderate Midwestern voice to the table along with a toughness to get things done. I’m very excited about the ticket,” Beth S. from Andover said.
Many critics of Harris’s choice said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro would have been a better pick in order to win over voters in swing states.