From former football coach and teacher to vice-presidential candidate – Nachrichten AG

With a viral line on cable TV – “these guys are just weird” – Tim Walz catapulted himself into the race to be Kamala Harris’s running mate. The 60-year-old brings a folksy, unpretentious and sharp-tongued approach to confronting Republican opposition, while also impressing with a fascinating resume: public school teacher, football coach and National Guardsman before entering politics.

Walz is a political veteran with experience representing a Republican-leaning district in Congress and later enacting left-wing policies as governor of Minnesota. His diverse political experience could have broad appeal at a time of extreme political polarization in the U.S.

From teacher and football coach to congressman

A native of rural Nebraska, Walz spent his summers farm work and hunting, and joined the Army National Guard at age 17, where he served for 24 years. His father, a school administrator, encouraged him to join the military before he died of lung cancer when Walz was 19. Walz has spoken about how Social Security survivor benefits supported his mother and how the GI Bill funded his college education.

Armed with teaching degrees, Walz took a year-long teaching position in China around the time of the Tiananmen massacre. He spent his honeymoon in that country with his wife, Gwen Whipple, and organized summer educational trips to China for U.S. students.

Back in Nebraska, Walz became a teacher and American football coach until his wife, also a teacher at the school, moved him back to her native Minnesota. As coach at Mankato West High School, Walz built a football program that led the school to its first state championship.

Former members of the team appeared on stage when Walzer spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In his address to party members, he drew heavily on American football metaphors: “We’re out on the field, and boy, do we have the right team.” While teaching, he also received praise for agreeing to be the adviser to the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance at a time when homosexuality was largely frowned upon.

His positions and beliefs

Over his 12 years in Congress, Walz’s ideology has been difficult to categorize. He voted for the Affordable Care Act, supported pro-worker measures including a bill to raise the minimum wage, and supported a successful cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions.

But he also found common cause with Republicans. He voted to continue funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, supported tighter screening of refugees entering the U.S., and tried to block Obama’s bailouts of banks and automakers after the 2008 financial crash. Once backed by the pro-gun National Rifle Association (NRA), which helped fund his campaign, he advocated a ban on assault rifles after the Parkland school shooting and lost their support.

Walz won Minnesota’s 2018 gubernatorial election by more than 11 points, but his first term was overshadowed by the Covid pandemic and the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Republicans sharply criticized Walz for being slow to deploy the National Guard even as some protests turned violent. But the governor won re-election, and his second term was a busy one with Democrats controlling the state legislature by a single vote.

Democrats have enshrined abortion rights, introduced paid family and medical leave, tightened gun laws, funded universal free school meals and invested in affordable housing. The frenetic activity caught the eye of former President Barack Obama, who wrote, “If you need a reminder that elections have consequences, look at what’s happening in Minnesota.”

Walz has recently been making waves on the national stage. “These people on the other side are strange,” he recently told MSNBC, a label that has been widely used. “They want to ban books. They want to [Arzt-]treatment room.” But Republicans characterize what Walz did in Minnesota as too radical for ordinary Americans. Tom Emmer, the third Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, accused Walz of wanting to turn Minnesota into Kamala Harris’ home state of California.

But supporters, including union leaders, believe Walz can broaden Harris’ appeal to rural and working voters. Angie Craig, a Democrat in the House who is in a competitive race for re-election, praised Walz as a “battle-tested leader.” A “proven winner who has never lost an election in many tough races,” she told the BBC she believes he would be the best possible addition to the Harris ticket.

With Gwen, Walz has two children: Hope and Gus. His family attended the DNC, where Walz referred to them as his “whole world.” The remark brought Gus to his feet, who cried through tears, “That’s my dad.” Before the convention, Mr. and Mrs. Walz spoke to People magazine about their “brilliant” 17-year-old son, who suffers from a learning disability, ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and an anxiety disorder – conditions that give him a “superpower.”

During his speech in Chicago, Walz addressed middle America, addressing the fertility issues he and his wife have experienced. IVF fertility treatment is enmeshed in America’s debate over abortion rights, and Walz has repeatedly referenced the procedure on the campaign trail. His wife recently clarified that the couple went through a different procedure to have children, prompting Republican criticism that Walz has been misleading on the issue.

For many, Tim Walz embodies a unique blend of personal history and political diversity that could be crucial in this polarized time. Whether his combination of rural down-to-earthness and political experience will be enough to bolster Kamala Harris’ ticket remains to be seen.