HARRISBURG, Pa. — The biggest moment of Tim Walz’s political career is here.
Stakes are high for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Election Day
The Democratic vice presidential candidate could either contribute to a historic win, or face scrutiny as Kamala Harris’ pick if she loses.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 5, 2024 at 11:14PM
The Minnesota governor could become America’s vice president if he and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris win Tuesday’s general election against Republican former President Donald Trump and Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
A win would put Walz in rare company: He’d join Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale as the only Minnesotans to ascend to the vice presidency.
“I could not be prouder to be on this ticket,” Walz told a few dozen supporters at a Pennsylvania diner on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters before he departed to Washington, D.C., Walz said his “faith in this country has been so restored” by his time on the presidential campaign trail.
“I never thought I’d be in Harrisburg in a diner with folks,” Walz said, calling the election “truly a remarkable thing we do every four years.”
“It’s democracy. It’s messy, it’s beautiful,” Walz said.
It’s a scenario few could have envisioned earlier this year, when President Joe Biden was seeking re-election with Harris as his running mate. Walz was mostly unknown outside Minnesota at the time, but his star began to rise as he led the Democratic Governors Association and campaigned as a surrogate for the Biden administration. Walz wasted little time after Biden exited the race, hitting the cable news circuit in an apparent audition to be Harris’ running mate. He won over Harris and national Democrats with his “Minnesota nice” way of attacking Republicans as “weird people.”
If Harris loses, her selection of Walz over swing-state politicians like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro could be subject to fresh criticism. Some questioned the upside of picking a running mate from a state that hasn’t supported a Republican presidential candidate in more than 50 years. Harris bet that Walz’s rural roots and background as a former soldier, teacher and football coach would strengthen her appeal to working-class voters in battleground states.
Walz’s joyful, energetic attitude was a hit with Democrats on the campaign trail. Many who attended his rallies proudly waved “Coach!” signs and donned camouflage “Harris-Walz” hats, a nod to the governor’s experience as a hunter.
But it’s unclear how much of an effect Walz had on undecided voters. The governor struggled at times during his only nationally televised debate against Vance. And Walz sometimes found himself under national scrutiny for past statements he made that were proven inaccurate.
Walz’s final campaign swing included stops in the critical “Blue Wall” states of Wisconsin and Michigan, and concluded in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. He then flew to Washington, D.C., for the campaign’s election-night party at Howard University.
At his last campaign events, the governor reflected on his whirlwind journey as the gravity of the moment sunk in. The Democrat who grew up in rural Nebraska and was first elected to public office just 18 years ago could soon find himself in the White House.
“How amazing is it that a kid from Butte, Neb., and a kid from Oakland, Calif. — middle-class kids, her with a single mom trying to buy a home, me with a dad who dies when I’m a teenager and my little brother’s in elementary school, my mom’s a stay-at-home mom — but because of what this country has given us and the opportunities, we are going to be the next president and vice president of the United States,” Walz said.
A Harris-Walz victory in Tuesday’s general election would be historically significant nationally and in Minnesota. Harris would be the first woman elected as president of the United States. And the elevation of Walz would make way for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to become Minnesota’s first female and first Native American governor.
Back in Minnesota, some voters were buzzing about the possibility of a vice president Walz.
As he headed into the Capri Theater polling place in north Minneapolis on Tuesday, Mike Knowlen said he was going to vote for Harris because he couldn’t stomach the idea of another Trump presidency. If Harris wins, Knowlen said he would be disappointed to lose Walz as governor.
“He’s awesome, I love that dude,” Knowlen said. “He seems like the type of guy you could actually go have a beer with, which obviously shouldn’t be the criteria for picking your vice president, but it sure does seem to help, you know what I mean? Somebody that’s relatable.”
In Delano, on the western edge of the Twin Cities metro, Ryan Walsh felt differently. He cited Walz as a factor behind his vote for Trump. Walsh, who works at a Ford dealership, said he’s concerned about the high cost of vehicle registration in Minnesota, and that the state is becoming more expensive and liberal than its neighbors.
“Tim Walz has tried to make our state follow a lot of what California is doing,” Walsh said.
Staff writers Jessie Van Berkel and Josie Albertson-Grove contributed to this report.
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