Tim Walz has never attended the Ivy League school.He has never written political memoirs.He worked at a beautiful black bed factory in Jones Berler, Akeesea.He did not show much interest in political undertakings before the age of 40.
The 60 -year -old Governor Waltz, the Governor of Minnesota, was selected by US Vice President Harris on Tuesday as a campaign partner, but this is not the pinnacle he wanted to reach his life.
Harris wants to refute the views of the Democratic Party as a cultural and coastal elite party by choosing Waltz.His life and style are not only in sharp comparison with Harris from California, but also different from New York billionaires and former President Trump. To some extent, with Trump's campaign partners and graduated from Yale Law School(And wrote a best -selling memoir) JD Wanz is very different.
In the highest echelon of American politics, Waltz's life seems unique: he used to work as farmers, hunting turkey, serving on the National Guard on the weekend, going to public schools, and coaching the local high school rugby team and won the statechampion.
Since getting involved in politics, Waltz has always regarded his life experience as his own political advantage. This is also an important reason why Harris pays attention to Walz. A few weeks ago, most Democrats almost did not know Waltz.Compared to other Democrats, Governor of Minnesota, who has a bright smile and simple style, can more conceive and convey Trump's "hairy" and "weird" that Trump has been in the Democratic Party.
Nevertheless, Walz spent most of his life in a conservative area in Nebraska and Minnesota, and he effectively used his ordinary life to establish contact with people.Even some American Republicans also claimed that he was humble and kind, although he said he would never vote for him -especially as a campaign partner for Harris.
Childhood in Nebras
Waltz was born in West Point City, Nebraska, USA (3500 people), and grew up (285 people) in the town of Biyte.This town is located in the most remote mountainous areas of the most rural state in the United States, surrounded by cornfields and rolling hills.
Waltz has often hunting since he was a child -he took his rifle to school so that he could play turkey with his friends after rugby training.At the age of 17, he followed his father's footsteps and joined the National Guard.During the Korean War, his father served in the army.
His father died of lung cancer when he was 19 years old.In 1989, Waltz received a bachelor's degree from Chaderlong School of California, Nebraska, and went to China to teach English and American history for a year.
Since then, he returned to his hometown in Nebraska in the United States to teach global geography, where he met his wife Ge Wen, who was also a teacher, and then began to be a coach in the football team.In September 1995, 31 -year -old Walz was stopped by a Plaska police on a speed limit of 55 miles/h at a speed of 55 miles/h.Waltz failed to pass the on -site alcohol test and finally acknowledged the crime of reckless driving.Waltz's lawyer said at the time that Walz told the principal and resigned, but he kept his work and quit alcohol.
In the second year, the couple moved to a small city of Mankato surrounded by the agricultural community in southern Minnesota.Waltz has been teaching and being a team coach. Ben Ingman, who has coached the team in Waltz, said that he has gradually grown into a group of students 9 to 12 years old at the beginning of training.It is the best seventh -grade basketball team in history! "
Ingman once watched Waltz's son Ges ride a bicycle."When Geus finally learned to ride a bicycle, he died excitedly, raised his hands, yelling, and ecstatic," he said.
Waltz once led students to China and helped to win in the predicament.In the late 1990s, after a high school student Jacob Reinean came out, he and his wife created the first homosexual-heterosexual league organization on the campus.
Raytan, 42, recalled in an interview that students would laugh at him at the time.Someone smashed his window, and one day he went home to find that a lane was engraved with a chalk.Raytan said that although it was a terrible thing to come out, "because of the existence of Tim and Gwwin Waltz, everything has become easier."
"Who is this guy?"
Waltz's political career began during President George W. Bush.According to the governor, in 2004, he accompanied a group of high school students to participate in the rally supported by Bush in Mankato, but they were rejected because a student supported Bush's opponent and the Massachusetts Democratic Party of Massachusetts.Senator John Kerry.
Waltz was furious.He said that within a few days, he signed up to become a volunteer of the Kerry campaign team and found a common goal with the veteran who opposed the Iraq war.
He later said that the confrontation in the rally was a "sad moment", which opened a long campaign -in 2006, he was in a conservative rural constituency in Minnesota in the United States, and one with oneThe Republican Party, which is re -elected for sixth session, started a contest at the appointed ascember.
Walz's previous students at Mankatosi High School signed up for on -site ticketing work. Although it is difficult for people to imagine an American Democratic Party candidate who has no donor and has no popularity in a red constituency in a red constituencyThe current profound foundation is defeated.
"This is an agricultural area, very conservative," said 41 -year -old Nicole Griene Sevich.She is a student of Waltz Global Geography and a volunteer of that campaign."For a long time, it has been regarded as the Republican constituency, so everyone is thinking, who is this guy?"
That year, Walz received campaign training at Wels Tong.This is a weekend lecturer class named after Minnesota Senator Paul Welston. His firm liberal political position and simple and unpretentious style are the models of many Democrats in the state.
Walz wearing jeans, T -shirts and sneakers came to the training camp -this is not a elegant candidate should be worn, Peggy Flanagen said that she was Minnespolis at the time.The members of the school committee were assigned to be Walz's mentor that weekend.
"He came in and said,‘ I ’m Tim Waltz, I want to run for parliament members.’ We asked, ‘I’ m going to choose as a Democratic Party? ’” Flauna recalled.
Walz won his victory with his student volunteer army and his outstanding performance in the debate.That year, the general dissatisfaction with the Bush administration helped the US Democratic Party control the House of Representatives.
"He completed his work."
In Congress Mountain, Waltz, who had served in the National Guard for 24 years, appeared with the positive critic of the Iraq war.He has influence on the issue of agriculture and veterans.But in most cases, he is a low -key US Congress, a casual and friendly back seat member who tends to follow the Democratic Party when voting.
"He was never a popular person," said Brois Olson, a political analyst at Minnesota."He has completed his work. Many ordinary members of the two parties are like this."
He supports Obama's medical reform and raise minimum wages, and promotes the expansion of the war of Iraq and AfghanistanEducational benefits of veterans.He pays special attention to the important issues of agriculture and veterans.He expressed his support to homosexual students during his tenure as a teacher in Minnesota, and now has become one of the most active supporters who prohibit the disclosure of the military policy of public gays to join the army.
After several successful re -election campaigns, Waltz saw some signs of awakening.Democrats in rural areas are endangered.In 2016, the voters in his constituency began to obsessor Trump.That year, Walz won the sixth term with a 50.4%voting rate of the Republican opponent Jim Hagdorn, with less than a percentage advantage.This is the smallest victory advantage since his campaign of Congress.
In March 2017, Walz announced that he would leave Congress to run for Governor of Minnesota."If he runs again in 2018, he may lose this seat, which is one of the reasons for his campaign governor."
"A Minnesota"
In 2018, he was elected governor, and his former political instructor Vlanegen served as the deputy governor.Their campaign slogans are "one Minnesota". In this era of polarization, they shaped themselves as united leaders.
The biggest crisis they face may be the chaos and violence caused by the Minne Polish police officer in May 2020.In the following days, the wave of protests, robbery and arson spread in Minnespolis, prompting the mayor of the city to ask the governor to deploy the National Guard.
Waltz did not immediately respond to this request, which caused critics to say he hesitated in a critical moment.That week, hundreds of companies were robbed and arson, causing a loss of $ 500 million in estimates.The governor eventually sent the troops to Minnespolis, who defended his response, saying that the elected officials worked hard to face huge challenges.
"I just believe that we have done their best to do the best," not long ago, he said at a press conference.
When he was re -elected in 2022, the competitors tried to incorrectly associate him with the movement of the police's funds and criticized his blockade policy during the new crown epidemic.
During the first and second governor campaign, Waltz lost the support of the old voters.In 2018, he won more than 49%of the votes in the original Congress constituency, slightly higher than his Republican opponent.Four years later, when he sought re -election, he lost the parliamentary constituency at a disadvantage of more than 7 percentage points.
But he still won -the US Democrats completely controlled the state legislature, which largely benefited from the enthusiastic voting of liberal voters, and they were dissatisfied with the decision to terminate the federal abortion rights in the Supreme Court.
With a majority of advantages in the State Senate, Waltz has signed some bills to include abortion rights into state regulations to legalize entertainment marijuana, provide free diet for all students in schools, and ask employers to provide bands with bands.Pay medical care and family -visiting leave, and strengthened the limitation of guns.
This summer, Waltz began to accept the invitation of TV news programs to shape himself as an incarnation of the values of a more real town than Wans, which attracted the attention of his allies and critics.He believes that Democrats should not focus on the danger of Trump's re -election, and should pay more attention to sharing optimistic visions that are easy to understand.
His previous students, neighbors, and voters watching the show at home are very familiar with this vitality.
"When listening to him, I found that the rhythm and way he spoke, and his speech was exactly the same as that he was in high school," said his former student Griene Sevich said.