Source: Jason Armond / Getty
Did you hear that? It’s as if an entire nation cheered at once and that cheer was echoed by crowds in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin and felt in our homes and our hearts across America introducing us to Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Am I overdoing it a bit? Probably. But it felt like that. After the nonstop divisiveness and thinly veiled threats generated by the Trump/Vance MAGA ticket, Walz came waltzing in like a belly laugh and a breath of fresh air, like a voice of common sense amidst the chaos.
But it’s not Walz’s Midwest manner and no-nonsense campaign style. It’s not just that he speaks plainly, directly and with a heart that couldn’t be more genuine if it was beating in his chest. It’s that he actually knows what he’s talking about. Is he perfect? No, and we should not expect perfection. Instead, we should examine what progress looks like.
A two-term governor who served in Congress for 12 years, Tim Walz knows how to lead and pass a legislative agenda that matters. He served 24 years in the Army National Guard, enlisting when he was just 17 years old and rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major, a career and rank respected by privates and generals alike because, while officers give the orders, Command Sergeant Majors get the job done.
He’s a champion for education because he spent 16 years as a geography teacher and football coach and knows firsthand the challenges our teachers and students face daily. He knows what’s at stake in the MAGA war against science and reproductive freedom because he and his wife had both of their children thanks to IVF, and Republicans like Vance want to ban it. He made universal background checks and red flag laws a reality in Minnesota not because of some public opinion poll, but because he’s a gun owner and that’s what responsible gun owners do. He fights for justice reform and holding violent cops accountable because it was his Attorney General’s Office that sent Derek Chauvin to jail for killing George Floyd, and he stood up and spoke at Duante Wright’s funeral calling for justice with men like Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton.
Who brought free school lunches to every student in Minnesota? Walz did. Who fought to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in Congress and restored those rights to some 50,000 Minnesotans who’d served their time and paid their debt? Walz did. Who created the Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls because too often white victims make headlines while Black women and girls get buried? Walz did.
And who will fight side by side with Vice President Kamala Harris to confine Trump’s Project 2025 to the dustbin of history while we the people move into the future? Gov Tim Walz will. So that cheering you hear isn’t just Democrats. It isn’t just white voters, the Midwest, school teachers or veterans. It’s all of us – all of us together – and we aren’t going back. Now, if ya don’t know, now ya know…Tim Walz
Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @antjuansea.
SEE ALSO:
Why Fear About Kamala Harris’ Candidacy Is Misguided
Op-Ed: Who Is JD Vance? Silicon Valley Millionaire MAGA Extremist
