Midwestern Influence in VP Pick

OMAHA (DTN) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was named Tuesday as running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket against former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

In terms of the campaign, the former prosecutor from San Francisco chose a Midwesterner from Minnesota to counter the former New York real-estate mogul's pick of a Midwesterner from Ohio. Walz, 60, has been viewed as a Democratic "rural Midwest" counter to Vance.

Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, has a long history of working with Walz through his time as both governor and a former congressman from southern Minnesota who served for six terms on the House Agriculture Committee.

"He does understand rural very well and he's got a rural background," Wertish said. "He's been a strong supporter of agriculture through his years as a congressman and working on farm bills and especially renewable fuels. Those are big issues in rural Minnesota."

Along with the focus on biofuels, Walz also has been championing more electric vehicles and lowering greenhouse gas emissions across the state's economy. Walz set up a biodiesel task force, which Wertish sits on, to help increase higher and higher blends of biodiesel fuels. "The governor has been very supportive of that," Wertish said. He added, "He's really been a strong supporter of trying to move away from fossil fuels as much as you can."

Wertish described Walz as "very personable" who is "definitely willing to listen and doesn't come into policy conversations with preconceived ideals.

"He really tried to listen to all sides and come up with a solution that fits the issue and helps the majority of people and I have to give him credit for that," Wertish said.

Harris's selection of Walz also will likely draw a lot more attention over the next couple of days at Minnesota's FarmFest, which starts Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

Walz comes from a different background than a lot of national political leaders. He was a social-studies teacher in Mankato, Minnesota. As the story goes, Walz decided to run for Congress after he and his students were prevented from attending a rally for former President George W. Bush in Mankato because one of his students had a sticker supporting John Kerry.

The Trump-Vance campaign quickly described Walz as "a dangerous liberal extremist," and a "West Coast wannabe." The campaign linked to a 2017 Republican Governors Association video in which Walz described red states as "mostly cows and rocks." Trump had been paying more attention to Minnesota in hopes of flipping the state.

"Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," stated Karoline Leavitt, Trump's campaign press secretary. "While Walz pretends to support Americans in the Heartland, when the cameras are off, he believes that rural America is 'mostly cows and rocks'. From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California's dangerously liberal agenda far and wide. If Walz won't tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American's nightmare.

Walz has been Minnesota's governor since taking office in 2019. Walz also served on the House Agriculture Committee from 2007 until he became governor. Walz was involved in drafting and passing the 2008, 2014 and 2018 farm bills.

Walz's roots are actually in Nebraska. He was raised in Valentine, Nebraska, and went to college at Chadron State College in the northwest corner of the state. Early in his teaching career, Walz also taught students on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota as well as in China. He took a teaching job in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1996 and taught there until he chose to run for Congress.

Walz also joined the Nebraska National Guard at age 17 and retired from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005 at the rank of command sergeant major.

Walz has worked with Republican Midwest governors to push EPA to allow those states to sell E15 year-round. That goes into effect in 2025. He had pushed for legislation in Minnesota for E15 as well. Walz also wrote President Joe Biden in February 2021 calling on his administration to consider executive orders that would encourage more biofuel use. One proposal Walz pitched was to tighten the Clean Air Act by replacing aromatics in gasoline with alternatives, which would force a shift to higher-octane ethanol.

In 2020, Walz also joined South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and then-Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts -- all Republicans -- in asking Trump administration EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to reject 52 petroleum refiner applications for retroactive small refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Walz also has pushed to expand school breakfasts and lunches in his state. Last year, he signed a bill allowing free school meals for children who attend public and private schools.

In May 2023, Walz also signed a bill legalizing recreational cannabis in Minnesota, a position he had backed since his ran for governor.

On Facebook Walz recently touted establishing paid leave for illnesses, expanding collective bargaining rights and touting "clean-energy job growth to create good-paying union jobs."

Walz has pushed back on complaints that his policies are too liberal. "What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions," Politico quoted.

Walz also showed up on a Zoom fundraiser for "White Dudes for Harris" shortly after she took over the race from President Joe Biden. Walz said to the group, "How often in a hundred days do you get to change the trajectory of the world? How often in a hundred days do you get to do something that's going to impact generations to come?"

Also see, "Vance Has Little History in Ag Policy, But He Has Rural Roots and a Story," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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