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Updated 10:36 AM EDT, Wed August 21, 2024
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sits at the State Capitol in St. Paul in April 2023.
A baby Tim Walz is held by his father, James. The future Minnesota governor was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska.
Walz poses for a photo in 1981 during basic training for the Army National Guard. In 1989, he graduated from Chadron State College in Nebraska, majoring in social science education. He received a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Walz, right, and Gary Bloomberg stand at an artillery training facility at Camp Guernsey in Wyoming in 1992.
As a first-time candidate for Congress, Walz arrives at an event featuring former Vice President Walter Mondale in Owatonna, Minnesota, in October 2006. Walz was in a tight race with Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht.
Walz, second from right, appears with other newly elected House members on the steps of the US Capitol in November 2006.
Walz talks with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC, in 2007. Over more than a decade in Congress, Walz assembled a fairly centrist voting record. As a first-time campaigner, he opposed a ban on same-sex marriage and supported abortion rights. And once in Congress, he balanced that out with comparatively more conservative positions on gun rights, which resulted in him scoring a National Rifle Association endorsem*nt. Walz has since fallen out of favor with the gun lobby over his support for gun safety actions as governor.
Shortly after winning a third term, Walz appears with his wife, Gwen, and their children, Hope and Gus, at a mock swearing-in ceremony with House Speaker John Boehner in 2011.
Walz, right, looks at fellow Minnesota Rep. Chip Cravaack during a meeting of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in February 2012.
Walz and other lawmakers watch President Barack Obama sign the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act in April 2012.
Walz questions witnesses from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2014 as the House Veterans' Affairs Committee investigates allegations of gross mismanagement and misconduct at VA hospitals.
Walz speaks with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Capitol Hill in 2015.
Walz, a candidate for governor, hugs his children, Hope and Gus, following a campaign rally in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2018. Walz would go on to win that election to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.
Walz, as governor-elect, leans to get a picture of the wife and children of Steve Grove, left, in January 2019. Grove was Walz's new commissioner of employment and economic development. At right is Peggy Flanagan, the incoming lieutenant governor.
Walz reads a book to children in January 2019 at People Helping People, a shelter in Minneapolis for families experiencing homelessness amid extreme cold weather conditions.
Walz attends a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis in June 2020. At left is Martin Luther King III. Behind them is Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Walz greets Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, in September 2020.
Walz, right, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty receive Covid-19 vaccines in Eagan, Minnesota, in March 2021.
Walz and Klobuchar speak in April 2021 before funeral services for Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop.
Walz hands out pumpkin bars to a gun safety advocate before the first day of the legislative session in St. Paul in January 2023.
Walz greets Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrives in Minneapolis in March 2024.
Walz poses with people in St. Paul at a canvassing event for the Democratic presidential ticket in July 2024. Walz had been an outspoken defender of Biden. But when the president dropped out, Walz endorsed Kamala Harris the next day and has since emerged as a reliable, energetic and cutting advocate for the Democratic nominee.
Harris and Walz hold their first joint campaign rally in Philadelphia in August 2024.
Walz formally accepts the vice presidential nomination during his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. “It’s the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States,” he said at the start of his speech.
In pictures: Harris running mate Tim Walz
CNN —
Here is a look at the life of Tim Walz, Minnesota governor and the Democratic nominee for vice president.
Personal
Birth date: April 6, 1964
Birth place: West Point, Nebraska
Birth name: Timothy James Walz
Father: James Walz
Mother: Darlene Walz
Marriage: Gwen (Whipple) Walz (1994-present)
Children: Hope and Gus
Education: Chadron State College, B.S., 1989; Minnesota State University in Mankato, M.S., 2001; attended Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Military service: Army National Guard, 1981-2005, Command Sergeant Major but retired as Master Sergeant
Religion: Lutheran
Other Facts
His last name is pronounced WALLS.
While teaching and coaching in Minnesota, became the faculty adviser for Mankato West High School’s first Gay-Straight Alliance.
Has spoken about his family’s journey with fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, or IVF, before welcoming their daughter Hope.
During his time as governor, Minnesota Democrats were able to codify abortion rights into law, increase transgender rights protections, pass a marijuana legalization bill and install new gun safety laws.
Timeline
1989-1990 - Teaches high school students in China through a Harvard-affiliated program.
1991-1996 - High school teacher and coach in Alliance, Nebraska.
September 1995 - Walz is pulled over in Nebraska for driving 96 mph in a 55-mph zone and arrested for speeding and on suspicion of drunk driving. He later pleads guilty to a reckless driving misdemeanor charge and pays a fine.
1996-2006 - Teaches at Mankato West High School in Minnesota. Walz also helps coach the football team to its first state championship in 1999.
2007-2019 - US Representative for the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota, serving six terms.
November 6, 2018 - Is elected governor of Minnesota.
January 7, 2019 - Is sworn in as Minnesota’s 41st governor.
May 28, 2020 - Activates the Minnesota National Guard following nights of unrest in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul after George Floyd was killed on May 25 when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.
November 8, 2022 - Is reelected governor with more than 52% of the vote.
March 14, 2024 - Accompanies Vice President Kamala Harris to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota when she becomes the first sitting vice president to visit a clinic that performs abortions.
August 6, 2024 - Harris announces Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election.
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