Kamala Harris names Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her 2024 running mate
(Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, 2024 Running Mates, Image credit: Twitter)
After weeks of speculation and social media teases about “making an announcement soon,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced today that she has chosen the relatively unknown Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her vice-presidential running mate. And although Walz may not be well known to many of us, he is very popular in the mid-west and especially so in his home state and among educators and labor unions.
Tim Walz Bio: The 60-year-old Walz is Minnesota’s 41st Governor. He was first elected Governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Accomplishments from his time as Governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers. Throughout his time as Governor, he has prioritized making Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a family.
After graduating high school, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard. He attended Chadron State College and graduated with a social science degree in 1989. He spent a year teaching abroad before returning home to serve full time in the Army National Guard and eventually accepting a high school teaching and coaching position.
While teaching, he met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, who taught at the same school. In addition to teaching social studies,he helped coach the Mankato West football team that won the school’s first state championship.
After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. He won his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and was re-elected for another five terms serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District in Southern Minnesota.
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Walz had the American unions standing firmly behind him when his name was included among those bidding for the 2024 vice president’s position.
Just yesterday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, CLC, Local 3000 Labor Union (UFCW 3000) was strongly encouraging Kamala Harris to select Walz as her running mate for Vice President in 2024. The UFCW 3000 felt that Walz’s leadership has been a “beacon of progress for working people, and we believe he is the best choice to continue advancing the interests of workers across the nation.”
On the ballot in 2024 is democracy and the rights of workers to participate in our country. Under Governor Walz’s leadership, he has expanded worker rights and access to democracy. His administration has championed key legislation that enhances the lives of working people, including:
- Passed the “Democracy for the People Act” to allow 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote, established automatic voter registration, allow voters to become permanent absentee, and expanded language access to voter materials.
- Banned Captive Audience Meetings: Ensuring that workers are not coerced into anti-union meetings.
- Eliminated Noncompete Agreements: Allowing workers to freely pursue new opportunities without restrictive clauses.
- Empowered Teachers: Allowing educators to negotiate over student class sizes to ensure a better learning environment.
- Guaranteed Paid Sick Days: Ensuring all workers have access to paid sick leave, a crucial benefit for maintaining health and well-being.
And today, following Harris’ announcement, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association – the largest Labor union in America – released a statement singing Walz’s praises and celebrating the fact Harris chose him to be her running mate.
“The country’s educators and students have always been able to count on Vice President Kamala Harris. She has delivered once again for students, educators, and working families with the exceptional choice of Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
“Gov. Walz is known as the “Education Governor” because he has been an unwavering champion for public school students and educators, and an ally for working families and unions. As a high school teacher and NEA member Walz is committed to uplifting our public schools. He has a track record of getting things done to make people’s lives better. Walz successfully passed legislation providing free school meals to every Minnesota student, ensuring no child will have to learn on an empty stomach. He increased education spending by billions of dollars, raised teacher pay, enacted paid family and medical leave for all families, provided unemployment insurance to hourly school workers, and expanded the collective bargaining rights of Minnesotans. We know he will be a valued partner to both Vice President Harris as well as educators and parents, advocating every day, so our students have the resources they need to succeed.”
“Educators are fired up and united to get out and elect the Harris-Walz ticket. We know we can count on a continued and real partnership to expand access to free school meals for students, invest in student mental health, ensure no educator has to carry the weight of crushing student debt, and do everything possible to keep our communities and schools safe.”
“There is so much at stake in this election for our students and our country. Donald Trump is a convicted felon who only cares about himself. This is the same man who entrusted Betsy DeVos, the least qualified secretary of education in history, to attempt to dismantle our public schools. Trump’s extreme, unprecedented Project 2025 agenda would fundamentally alter the American government and jeopardize our children’s futures and give Trump unprecedented power over our daily lives. He wants to ban books, take learning opportunities away from students, make educators pay more in taxes than billionaires, and eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Simply put, Donald Trump and JD Vance would be disastrous for the future of our country.”
“The choice in this election couldn’t be more clear. The 3-million members of the NEA will show their power by turning out, volunteering and making their voices heard because we know that electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is the only way we can take America forward.”
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Following today’s announcement, Walz was also quickly endorsed by former President Barack Obama:
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For more on Tim Walz and why Harris chose the Minnesota Governor to be her 2024 Vice Presidential running mate, see the video below.
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(Cover photo of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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