The Squiz 

Tim Walz has been chosen to be US Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate for the November presidential election. He’ll make his debut as America’s potential VP this morning when the pair take the stage at a Democratic campaign rally in Philadelphia. It settles the Democratic Party’s ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, leaving the door open to Harris and Walz to face off against Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance. 

Umm I don’t think I’ve heard of him…

You mean you can’t rattle off facts about the Minnesota Governor/former teacher/Army National Guard veteran? He’s beaten incumbent Republicans in several of the elections he’s faced and gives Harris an in with Midwestern voters. You might remember in the 2020 election there was a lot of talk about the ‘blue wall’ – that’s the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where both sides believe they need to win. Walz isn’t from there, but Minnesota is right next door, and the argument is that will give the Democrats an advantage. Reports this morning have also pointed to the 60yo’s strong social media presence where he’s “shown a down-to-earth side” via posts with his daughter Hope. And he’s spearheaded one of the Democrats’ most widely-used political attacks since Harris took centre stage – that Republicans are “just weird”. 

What now?

Well, the Walz family were pretty happy about the announcement… So far all the communications have been conveyed via social media. Walz took to X to say “I’m all in… It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.” And Harris said “We are going to build a great partnership. We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election. So let’s get to work.” You know who isn’t so enthusiastic about the Democratic team? Republicans… Their vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Walz’s selection “highlights how radical Kamala Harris is.” They are painting him as a “left-wing extremist” and will focus on his record as governor for the last 4 years, pointing to his policies on gun control, access to abortion and the like. Let the games begin…