Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election, according to CNN.
CNN's Jim Acosta reported that Harris picked Walz in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Harris will hold a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, where Walz is expected to attend.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the Harris campaign sought vetting materials from Walz, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had also been widely mentioned as possible contenders.
Harris became the likely Democratic candidate for president after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down from the race, following weeks of calls for him to do so after a widely criticized debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump. Biden endorsed Harris shortly after announcing his decision. Harris has also received endorsem*nts from other top Democratic names, including former President Barack Obama.
Harris officially become the Democratic nominee for president on Monday night and will accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention later in August.
Tim Walz:
Walz serves as the Democratic governor of Minnesota, a seat he has held since 2019. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 1st Congressional District from 2007 to 2019.
In 2018, Walz defeated Republican challenger Jeff Johnson to win Minnesota's gubernatorial election.
Who Is Gwen Walz?
Walz married to Gwen Walz, who's maiden name is Whipple, in 1994. Gwen is an educator with roots in public service. She grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University. After graduation, she taught English in western Nebraska and served as an administrator and coordinator for the Mankato Area Public Schools, according to records reviewed by Newsweek.
Gwen also worked for Education Travels, Inc., a company that she and Tim started in 1999, to coordinate summer trips to China for American high school students.
At the Mankato Area Public Schools, Tim Walz taught social studies classes and helped coach the school's football team, KMSP-TV reported.
Gwen has played a crucial role in advocating for educational reform and wellness initiatives across the state of Minnesota. Shortly after news broke that her husband was picked as Harris' vice presidential candidate, Gwen spoke at the Minnesota Department of Education Back-to-School conference.
"Every student deserves a high-quality education, regardless of background or zip code," she said, according to Wilmar Public Schools Superintendent Bill Adams.
According to a bio on the governor's website, Gwen has also sought to advocate for education in prisons across the nation, as she worked to help provide education to incarcerated men and women.
Gwen also works closely with the Bard Prison Initiative in New York, which seeks to increase education opportunities to those in jail.
In 2023, Gwen delivered a speech for the Moms Demand Action organization where she spoke about gun safety reform laws and said "our work is not done...we have worked hard and we have worked together and we have worked for the possible but we are not there yet."
"Throughout her life, Gwen has been working passionately to build a more just and equitable world. From teaching at prisons and promoting criminal justice reform, to advocating for the LGBTQ movement, Gwen's desire to learn from and work with others to advance meaningful change is her guiding principle," the bio states.
Gwen is a registered voter in Minnesota and voted absentee in the 2022 election, according to records reviewed by Newsweek. She's only made one political donation, according to FEC records. In 2005, Gwen gave $1,000 to Leigh Charles Pomeroy, a Minnesota Democrat. Pomeroy lost a campaign to represent Minnesota in the House of Representatives in 2004 to incumbent Republican Gus Gutknecht. Two years later, Tim Walz beat Gutknecht in the 2006 election.
In 2019, Gwen spoke to PBS Twin Cities about her husband taking office as Minnesota governor saying, "Tim is going to make the decisions."
"And he did when he was in Congress. And I think we worked toward usually the same end, but we really trust one another," she said, adding that he ultimately makes the decision but values input from others.
Gwen also noted her love for sweets in the interview and Minnesota State Representative Erin Koegel posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she makes cookies and bars for legislators and the governor hands them out at the beginning of the legislative year.
Who are Tim Walz's kids, Hope and Gus?
Tim and Gwen are parents to two children, Hope and Gus, whom they raised in Mankato, Minnesota, before moving to St. Paul after he was elected governor.
In February, Walz spoke about his two children in a Facebook post saying, "Gwen and I have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF. This issue is deeply personal to our family and so many others."
During an interview with the Star Tribune Walz said they named their daughter Hope because they had spent seven years undergoing fertility treatments before Gwen found out she was pregnant. Hope was born in 2001, followed by Gus in 2006.
Hope registered to vote in 2019, according to records reviewed by Newsweek and has a fishing license. In 2023, the governor posted an Instagram photo of Hope fishing and said fly-fishing was his "new favorite way" for them to spend time together. Hope attended the University of Minnesota, according to publicly available records.
Hope was convicted of two petty misdemeanors for speeding, once in 2017 and once in 2019. She was forced to pay a $225 in a fine and fees in 2017 and $198 in a fine and fees in 2019. In a citation summary from 2019, a police officer wrote that radar indicated she was driving at 81 miles-per-hour in a 55 miles-per-hour speed zone. She told the officer she thought the speed limit was 70 miles-per-hour and was unaware of how fast she was going, according to the citation.
In 2021, Walz also shared a Father's Day post on Facebook with his two children saying "I am so lucky to be a dad to these two amazing kids!"
