Minnesota Spice: Harris VP Candidate Tim Walz Delights Democrats With MAGA Spot

CNN
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According to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the stakes in the upcoming presidential election are astronomically high and remarkably simple.

On one side, says the former high school teacher and congresswoman, is Vice President Kamala Harris — a serious, competent and experienced candidate who he believes has the best interests of Americans at heart.

On the other side, Walz points out, are former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio — a pair of “weird guys” who use populist and, in the case of Vance, impossibly simplistic rhetoric to disguise their dangerous political agenda.

That kind of clear, biting messaging, delivered in an exuberant Minnesota accent, has transformed Walz from a relatively anonymous — despite his respectable progressive record — Midwestern Democrat into a potential vice presidential contender for Harris. At the same time, Walz is carving out a new — at least for polite liberal politics — line of attack on Republican leaders of the MAGA movement, which he has repeatedly described as “weird.” as they turned against both their political agenda and their public manners.

Walz was, once again, a swirl of acid and honey during his speech Monday night at the “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom fundraiser. This time, though, he also sounded like the former high school football coach, first asking fans to “keep hammering Trump and Vance” and “shrink them.”

He then presented the main topic of the evening.

“How many times in a hundred days can you change the course of the world? How many times in a hundred days can you do something that affects generations after you?” Walz asked. “And how many times in the world do you make that son of a bitch wake up and know that a black woman beat him up and sent him down the road?”

The call’s host, Ross Morales Rocketto, thanked the governor, before jokingly noting, “I can see why everyone’s so excited about you.”

For allies in Minnesota, Walz’s lucky introduction to the national political stage is more surprising because of the unpredictability of the moment than for his qualities, which they told CNN can be underappreciated, in part because of the focus on the so-called “Blue Wall” state leaders arrayed to his east. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another potential running mate, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been inevitable since Biden stepped down and Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has a similar political style to Walz, has also raised his profile in the past 10 days.

Walz’s six years in charge of Minnesota have seen a remarkable series of political and social upheavals. First came the COVID-19 pandemic and then, in the midst of it, the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer, which sparked anti-racist protests around the world. Walz weathered it all—along with the usual complaints about wasteful spending—well enough to lead a Democratic trifecta in state government in early 2023.

A May 2023 tweet of approval from former President Barack Obama was a striking sign of Walz’s conscious rise, when he posted a link to a MinnPost report on the Legislature’s “transformative” session — a progressive “wish list” turned into a “to-do list,” as Walz put it at the time, that included codifying abortion rights in a post-Roe v. Wade world, adding protections for transgender people, enacting paid sick and family leave, expanding voting rights and investing public funds in affordable housing.

“If you need a reminder that elections have consequences,” Obama wrote, “look at what’s happening in Minnesota.”

It took a while, but now they’re here. Mayor Ben Schierer of Fergus Falls, Minn., who has worked closely with the governor, said he’s not surprised.

“Whether he’s on Fox News or MSNBC or at Union Pizza in Fergus Falls with me, he’s the same guy,” Schierer, who was first elected to the nonpartisan position in 2016, told CNN. “What people probably didn’t understand is that he’s completely fearless. Completely fearless. I would also add that he’s completely undefeated.”

Walz served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, including a deployment overseas after the 9/11 attacks, where he worked as a teacher and coach, before shockingly defeating a six-term Republican incumbent in 2006, a wave year for Democrats. Walz stayed on when the tide turned, winning repeated re-elections in the typically red district until leaving to run for his current job in 2018. (The seat quickly reverted to GOP control after he left.)

“He’s able to connect with people who you wouldn’t necessarily consider part of the Democratic coalition in these Midwestern states, meaning rural whites,” a progressive strategist with close ties to Minnesota Democrats told CNN. “They seem to like the way he speaks, they seem to like the little turns of phrase and the metaphors that he uses.”

While his hand in St. Paul has grown stronger in recent years, Walz seems emboldened. At a time when Progressive Democrats frequently criticize the party and its moderate leaders for not being ruthless enough with the power they wield. That charge has rarely been leveled at Walz.

“When he first ran for governor, his slogan or mantra was ‘ONE Minnesota,’ and he kept pushing the idea that ‘I can work across the aisle.’ ‘I can unite people,'” David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University, told CNN. “But once he had that trifecta, his message changed to, ‘This is what we can do with one-party control, the era of gridlock is over.'”

Schultz did indicate that Walz has become increasingly combative lately in his fight for a spot on the Democratic presidential ticket.

“One of the things that has really surprised me over the last few weeks is how good Walz is becoming as a pit bull,” Shultz said. “Especially with his comments about Vance.”

Walz seems to relish the opportunity to go after Trump’s running mate and colleague from the “small town” of the Midwest. That familiarity, as Walz calls it, has led to serious contempt.

“There’s one golden rule in a small town, (for) those of you who aren’t from a small town. Mind your own business,” Walz said. “We don’t need them. I don’t know who’s asking for this crazy stuff that they’re pushing. Who’s asking to ban contraception? Who’s asking to raise the price of insulin?”

He had only just begun.

At a virtual rally that raised $4 million for Harris’ campaign Monday night, Walz also tested the waters on foreign policy, stressing that Americans have a responsibility to the rest of the planet in the upcoming election.

“We’re not alone in this. The rest of the world needs us,” he said. “These guys are throwing our NATO allies under the bus, the idea that they don’t care what’s happening in the rest of the world, they’re not addressing climate change, which is going to have consequences for communities that are less fortunate than anyone else.”

He closed with a mix of Minnesotan and partisan grit, calling on Democrats to organize, be ruthless and go on the offensive.

“Never be afraid of our progressive values,” Walz said. “One man’s socialism is another man’s neighborliness.”