Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday, choosing a progressive policy champion and a plain speaker from America's heartland to help win over rural, white voters, said people familiar with the matter.
Walz, a 60-year-old U.S. Army National Guard veteran and former teacher, was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018.
As governor, Walz has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for Minnesota workers.