55 Things to Know About Tim Walz

Over at Politico, Anusha Mathur compiled 55 facts about Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Here are some of my favorites:

3. Walz credits his rural upbringing for his values: “A town that small had services like that and had a public school with a government teacher that inspired me to be sitting where I’m at today. Those are real stories in small towns.”

6. Walz’s father, a school administrator, died of lung cancer when Walz was 19. Walz said this moment fueled his views on health care access: “The last week of my dad’s life cost my mom a decade of going back to work to pay off hospital debt.”

9. He still speaks Mandarin.

15. He was the faculty adviser for [Mankato West High School’s] first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999.

24. Walz won re-election five times in southern Minnesota’s mostly rural, conservative 1st District, serving in the House for 12 years.

28. Walz once earned an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and the group’s endorsement. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners.

29. He later denounced the NRA and supported gun-control measures, such as an assault weapons ban. During his first campaign for governor in 2018, the NRA completely downgraded his rating. “I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine.”

33. Walz frequently defends his policies, such as the universal school meals bill signed into Minnesota law earlier this year, as common sense: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz said jokingly.

51. His tater tot hot dish - the unofficial dish of Minnesota - is three time champion of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hot Dish Off. He won in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Ezra Klein’s interview with Walz (pre-VP pick) is well worth a listen. Here’s an exchange near the end of the interview:

Klein: If a Democrat is president in 2025 and there’s a governing trifecta, what do you think Democrats should pass first? What would make the biggest difference for people?

Walz: I think paid family and medical leave. We’re the last nation on earth basically to not do this. It is so foundational to just basic decency and financial well-being. And I think that would start to change both finances, attitude — strengthen the family.

If JD Vance is right about this: that we should make it easier for families to be together, then make sure that after your child’s born, that you can spend a little time with them. That’d be a great thing.

K: Great way of also seeing who in politics is actually pro-family and who just likes to talk about it.

W: Oh, it separates people quickly.

He also reiterated this point in the interview:

“Right now, Minnesota is showing the country you don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Walz said last year. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”

Reading that quote, I immediately thought of Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society; there’s a great podcast series about it hosted by Melody Barnes.

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