Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her Democratic running mate for the 2024 presidential election, setting up a showdown with former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Walz, a 60-year-old military veteran who grew up in Nebraska, has drawn praise for his LGBTQ record dating back several decades. In 1999, when he was serving as a teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School in Minnesota, he stepped up to become an advisor for the school’s gay-straight alliance. That was the same year he led his school’s football team to the state championship.
As a member of Congress, Walz sponsored a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and proposed legislation to clamp down on discrimination against LGBTQ service members whose benefits were in jeopardy, according to the Human Rights Campaign. He also voted to nix “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and supported the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Minnesota has continued to advance the fight for LGBTQ rights during Walz’s tenure as governor. He has signed an executive order protecting gender-affirming care, approved a ban on conversion therapy, and signed legislation protecting transgender individuals and their loved ones who travel to Minnesota for gender-affirming care.
“Here in Minnesota, we believe in protecting personal freedoms,” Walz said in a post on X on July 26. “It’s why we established reproductive freedom and gender-affirming care as fundamental rights in Minnesota. And it’s why we banned the practice of ‘conversion therapy’ and ended book bans based on ideology.”
After spending 24 years in the National Guard, Walz served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019 — and for the final two years of his time on Capitol Hill he was the ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In a 2006 Congressional speech, Walz elaborated on his opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Not once, not once in my career did the question of sexual orientation come up,” Walz said at the time. “Not once was the ability of that unit to deliver the security and deliver their mission ever predicated on sexual orientation. Not once did I see that this nation was safer because a soldier was removed because of sexual orientation.”
Harris’ selection of Walz drew praise among LGBTQ groups.
The Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, a citywide LGBTQ club, voiced support for Walz after previously endorsing Harris for president. The club posted a graphic on Facebook Aug. 6 pointing to its endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket.
“We are proud to support Kamala HQ’s choice of Tim Walz as her running mate!” the club wrote on Facebook. “Tim Walz has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, even sponsoring the first Gay-Straight Alliance at the high school where he taught geography and was the football coach in 1999! We look forward to continuing to support this dynamic ticket and hope you will join us! visit www.SDNYC.org for more info on how to help GOTV with us!”
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates to office across the nation, also commended Harris for selecting Walz.
“Governor Tim Walz is a strong ally for our community and a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ equality,” LGBTQ+ Victory Fund president Annise Parker said in a written statement. “As governor, Walz worked with LGBTQ+ legislators to transform Minnesota into a refuge for LGBTQ+ families, a state where equality is the law of the land. A Harris-Walz ticket will certainly push the movement for equality forward, and we expect a Harris-Walz administration will continue the historic levels of LGBTQ+ representation among presidential appointments. We are confident that our work to elect pro-equality, pro-choice LGBTQ+ candidates will have a major impact up-ticket and that our candidates will win in November and make our government more reflective of our country’s highest values. ”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also offered positive feedback shortly after it was revealed that Walz would be the Democratic nominee for vice president.
“Tim Walz is an exceptionally effective governor — and also great to work with,” Buttigieg said. “I’m excited for what his Midwestern voice, military experience, and common-sense values will bring to our winning ticket, and for everything the Harris-Walz administration will deliver for Americans.
In his first general election campaign for governor, Walz edged his Republican opponent, Jeff Johnson, by 11 points. Walz won his 2022 re-election bid, defeating Republican Scott Jensen by roughly eight points.
