US Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Tim Walz as her running mate to strengthen the Democratic ticket in Midwestern states, find out more about him, his wife, religion and net worth
Walz is a second-term Minnesota governor and a staunch liberal, with a background in military service, and education.
Who is Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, bio, age, education, wife, education, religion and net worth
Kamala’s decision came on Tuesday just less than a month after she was thrust abruptly into the Presidential elections spotlight.
Kamala Harris chooses Tim Walz as running mate
US Vice President Kamala Harris has decided to pick Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Following the move, Harris took to X to make the announcement, stating:
I am proud to announce that I’ve asked Tim Walz to be my running mate. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his. It’s great to have him on the team.”
Tim Walz bio
Timothy James Walz is an American politician and former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer, who was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska, United States. He was born to Darlene Rose Reiman, a homemaker, and James F. Walz, a public school administrator. Walz’s family is of German descent, and they are Lutheran, the largest religion of Minnesota. Walz has his three other siblings.
Tim Walz is currently 60-years-old and a retired educator who has been serving as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the presumptive nominee for vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Tim Walz has an estimated net worth of $19 million as of 2024 and his annual income is around $2.5 million, derived from profits in various businesses, dividends, and interest on bank deposits. Through his role as governor, he earns $127,000 per year.
Walz is Lutheran, and he always been open about sharing his religion and supporting the faith of others.
Education
Walz obtained his early education from Butte High School, graduating in 1982 with a class of 25 students. He later earned a Bachelor of Science in social science education from Chadron State College in 1989. Walz later earned a Master of Science in educational leadership from the Minnesota State University, Mankato, in 2001.
Wife
Tim Walz married his wife Gwen Walz in 1994 and lived in Mankato, Minnesota, for nearly 20 years before moving to Saint Paul. He has two children, 23-year-old daughter Hope and 17-year-old son Gus Walz.
Earlier professions
Before becoming a politician, Walz was a soldier, who enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was just 17. He eventually retired in 2005 in the post of command sergeant major with a field artillery battalion. Walz also briefly taught in China around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen square unrest. However, he moved to Minnesota with his wife around the mid-1990s where he taught social studies, served as a football coach and union member at Mankato West High School.
Political career
Tim Walz belongs to the Democratic Party and currently serves as the governor of the state of Minnesota since 2019. Walz has gone on to represent southern Minnesota in the US House of Representatives for about a dozen years now. He was relatively unknown until recently made headlines for criticising Trump and his running mate JD Vance as “weird”.
Over the years of serving as governor, Walz has helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state. This includes sweeping protections for abortion rights as well as generous aid to various families. Walz notably led efforts to tackle the upheaval, following the 2020 murder of George Floyd. The veteran politician also faced backlash for expanding vaccinations across Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tim Walz also signed a law which made marital rape illegal and signed laws that helped illegal migrants secure free healthcare and tuition. Moreover, the veteran has presided over several years of budget surpluses during his road to his 2022 re-election.