Tim Waltz, The governor of Minnesota, captured the attention of the American public and influenced Democratic messages through a succinct summary of his view of Republicans: they are weird. Waltz’s videos have gone viral, cementing his status as a national voice in Kamala Harris’ campaign — and positioning him as a potential vice presidential candidate alongside her.
Waltz, 60, was born and raised in a small town in Nebraska. He began his career as a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. In 1999, long before the Democratic Party supported LGBT rights at the national level, Waltz was the first faculty advisor on behalf of the school where he worked for the fledgling LGBT Community Alliance. Additionally, he served in the National Guard for 24 years, a role that took him across the United States and to a mission in Europe.
“To be honest, many politicians are not ordinary people,” David Hogg, an activist for gun control and a fan of Waltz, told the British newspaper The Guardian, “They just don’t know how to talk to ordinary people.” But Waltz is exactly who he is: an honest, direct man , a teacher, a typical American youth coach. Michael Brodkorb, a former vice chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, described him as “exactly what you would imagine a Minnesota governor should be.”
Waltz ran for public office for the first time in 2006 in a Republican-leaning congressional district, and defeated the incumbent by surprise. He retained his seat until 2016, repeatedly defeating Republicans. In 2018 he was elected governor, and successfully retained his position in 2022. He currently serves as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, a position that gave him national status in the past year. His performances in recent weeks have received a lot of attention, placing his name on the list of potential candidates for the vice presidency and putting his style at the center of the stage for the Democrats.
In Minnesota, Democrats won a narrow majority in the government in 2022, winning both houses of the legislature and the governorship. Waltz and his colleagues in the legislature went to work, implementing a series of progressive policies such as free school meals, abortion protection, gun restrictions and the legalization of marijuana. Minnesota progressives, who have sometimes clashed with Waltz on policy, still support him.
Elian Parhat, the general manager of TakeAction MN, noted that despite deep disagreements with Waltz over the years, he is a man willing to change his position based on feedback. She and others pointed to his change in position on guns as an example. And of course, Waltz proved his abilities. His electoral achievements testify to his talent for forming coalitions of voters, from progressives to moderate Republicans. An essential thing if Kamala Harris wants to attract voters from the moderate Republican side.
In the Israeli context, Waltz, a former educator and retired army officer, traveled to Israel in 2009 as part of a diplomatic mission to the Middle East, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In Congress, he voted with the party to allocate foreign aid, including to Israel, and supported the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which met with fierce opposition from Israel and its closest allies, but was supported by most Democrats in Congress. After the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Waltz ordered the country’s flags to be lowered to half-mast as a sign of solidarity with the terrible disaster, and criticized both the attack and those who chose not to condemn it. “If you didn’t find moral clarity on Saturday morning, and you find yourself waiting to think about what you should have said, you need to reevaluate your place,” Waltz said at a memorial rally held at Congregation Beth El in suburban Minneapolis, according to a TC Jewfolk report from the event.
“The October seven events were the absolute inhumanity, terror and barbarism,” Waltz said. “This is not a geopolitical discussion. It’s murder.’ Since then, however, he has not been a particularly prominent voice in discussions about Israel, and he has expressed tolerance toward those who want to see the Democratic Party reduce its support for the war against Hamas in Gaza. This spring, when more than 18% of Minnesota voters voted “abstain” in the Democratic primaries to protest President Biden’s support for Israel, Waltz said the criticism should not be dismissed out of hand. “We have eight months.” said then “We have to bring these people back and listen to what they say” Waltz said at the time. “Take them seriously. Their message is clear, that they think this is an intolerable situation and that we can do more, and I think the president hears that.’
Waltz did not imply that he agreed with the protesting voters, and in April he condemned hostility toward Jewish students at campus protests against Israel, while expressing sympathy for the protesters’ messages about Gaza. “I think that when Jewish students tell us that they feel unsafe, we should believe them, and I believe them,” he said on a local PBS program. “Creating a space where political opposition or political gathering can take place is one thing. Intimidation is another thing.’ He added, “We all agree that the situation in Gaza is intolerable.” What happened on October 7 was intolerable.’ According to TC Jewfolk, Waltz spoke in June at an annual event held by the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations Council, where he called for strengthening Holocaust education and ethnic studies in Minnesota schools. (Holocaust education generally enjoys bipartisan support, while Republicans tend to oppose ethnic studies requirements, which some Jewish groups have also criticized for dismissing or diminishing the importance of Jewish identity.)