Though we’ve had occasional policy differences with him, we’ve long been impressed.
Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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America’s heartland is commendably getting the political recognition it’s due this year, with Republicans and Democrats tapping a pair of Midwesterners to balance out presidential tickets headed by a New Yorker and a San Franciscan.
Of two newly minted running mates, only one brings an authentic Midwest voice and sensibility to the race. It’s Minnesota’s Carhartt-clad governor, Tim Walz — a former teacher and football coach, an Army National Guard veteran, a former congressman and a Democrat now in the middle of his second gubernatorial term.
On Tuesday morning, Kamala Harris, the California-born vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, announced that she’s selected Walz to run as her vice president. It’s a historic moment in Minnesota, already home to two vice presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, and now potentially a third.
Walz is an experienced, pragmatic leader at both the state and federal levels. He has the temperament and constitution to serve. And he brings to the race rural America bona fides that beat by a country mile those of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, a venture capitalist and Ohio senator far removed from his family’s Appalachian roots.
Like Humphrey, Walz was born outside Minnesota but made his home here. Humphrey was a South Dakota native. Walz grew up in small-town Nebraska before settling in Mankato, where he taught and coached at Mankato West High School. He ran for the U.S. House in 2006, defeating GOP incumbent Gil Gutknecht to represent southern Minnesota’s mostly rural First District.
Walz’s new national prominence comes as no surprise to the Star Tribune Editorial Board. We saw Walz’s political potential when he first ran for Congress. In 2006, the Editorial Board endorsed him, writing then that he “radiates energy, optimism and critical thinking — qualities that Washington could use right now.” Those qualities should sound familiar to the new fans Walz has made after recent high-profile national media appearances.
