The evolution of Tim Walz: from high school teacher to VP nominee

Tim Walz must be having the wildest month of his life.

Is he a progressive darling? Is he a moderate in progressive clothing? A centrist? Is this a bait-and-switch?

Walz was born in the small town of West Point, Nebraska, in 1964, then lived in a couple of other small Nebraska towns, ultimately graduating in a class of 25 students from a high school in Butte. He enlisted in the army national guard at age 17, serving 24 years before retiring.

His father died when he was 19. He has said his family relied on social security survivor benefits to stay afloat. Walz subsequently moved around, taking some classes in Houston, Texas, then building tanning beds in Arkansas.

Walz met his wife, Gwen, also a teacher, and they moved to Mankato, Minnesota, a mid-size town south-west of Minneapolis. They now have two children, Hope and Gus, and have shared how they used in-vitro fertilization to bring them into the world.

Walz has said an experience taking students to see a George W Bush rally, where his students were turned away because organizers believed they were Democrats, led him to seek public office.

His record in Congress proved moderate. He often co-sponsored bills with Republicans and was one of the few Democrats to vote to hold the then attorney general Eric Holder in contempt of Congress in 2012.

Syrjamaki recalled tense town hall meetings during the Tea Party days where Walz would get hammered by conservatives upset with his votes. He would listen to their appeals and try to find common ground.

Democrats took the ball and ran with it.

Walz championed some items heavily from the start, like paid family leave. He also pushed for the child tax credit and clean energy mandate.

Universal school meals, in particular, have emerged as a battle line in this election. Walz has defended them in simple terms: kids need to eat so they can learn. Some Republicans, including those who wrote Project 2025, the rightwing manifesto for a potential second Trump term, refer to school meals as an entitlement program that should be curtailed.

Others have attacked his military record, saying he retired from the service rather than go to Iraq with his national guard unit and that he was inflating his rank, given he did not complete training to be called a command sergeant major at retirement. These claims came up during his gubernatorial runs but are getting increased scrutiny on the national stage. Walz retired before his unit received orders to go to Iraq, though after an indication that the unit might be called up.