Tim Walz is the best choice for a vice presidential candidate we have seen in a long time. From the get go, Walz was not someone who a lot of people had on their radar, for possible running mates, in this upcoming election. From the beginning of his run to be the running mate of Kamala Harris, Walz was different from most of the other candidates with him being a middle class man and the Governor of Minnesota. 

Harris choosing Walz over some of the other candidates, especially those who are already well known within the political landscape, could have backfired badly by him staying as an relatively unknown candidate but his personality was able to win a lot of people over. A lesser known candidate in an important election like this would be unlikely to fare well, and would drop out in favor of other big name candidates. 

Walz was able to distance himself from other candidates at the start by using simple, and effective language that could easily catch the attention of voters. He started describing Trump and Vance as “weird” which ended up resonating with a lot of people because it’s correct. “Weird” started to get more traction, it helped to make him more widely known to the masses. 

The problem younger people, such as myself, had with a lot of the politicians running was that some of the popular candidates, such as Josh Shapiro, was that the fact that they felt like career politicians who didn’t really have a sense for what the people of America wanted. Politicians like these who are deeply rooted in their parties often do not really understand issues the average American cares about and Walz is the polar opposite of that.

One other thing Walz has going for him which makes him such a strong Vice Presidential nominee is his resume as Governor in Minnesota. He made it easier to access mental health resources, improved literacy for children, and provided free lunch to school students; on top of that, he was in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019, so he has a good grasp of the political system. 

Walz has given back to his community and even served in the National Guard for 24 years. He was also a high school football coach from 1999 to 2006 before running for Congress. Both that and his teaching experience are somethings he kept in mind when he was governor. 

He signed a pro-worker bill in 2023 which included paid sick leave as well as signing one that provided free college tuition to low income families. 

He has been a long-standing supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and has actively championed rights for them, far more than some of the other VP candidates, and also supports reproductive rights as well as trans rights.  He also protected reproductive rights in the state of Minnesota with him signing a bill on Jan. 31, 2023 which gave the right to abortion and reproductive health care to Minnesotans. 

All of these accomplishments and ideas are for the average American. Someone who can fight for what actually matters is what this country needs right now and Walz is someone who I believe can take care of it.