In the U.S. presidential election, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Walz aims to target Midwest blue-collar swing states | WPN World People News

On August 6, Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidential election, officially announced her running mate as Tim Walz, the current Governor of Minnesota. With the election campaign in full swing, the Democrats quickly addressed the crisis following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race and boosted their poll numbers. The gap between them and Donald Trump has now narrowed to 0.5%, restarting the two-party showdown in the election.

Walz, 60, has been in politics for over 18 years and is considered a moderate rather than a headline-making political star. He served as a U.S. Representative from 2006 to 2018 and has been the Governor of Minnesota since then. Before his political career, he served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and was a high school social studies teacher and football coach. His background and experience are expected to attract some voters from the Midwest, rural areas, and the middle class. Additionally, he has taught as an "exchange teacher" in a high school in Guangdong, China, for a year, complementing Kamala Harris's profile.

However, Walz's major political weakness stems from the death of George Floyd and the ensuing riots in Minnesota. During that period, extreme left and right-wing protesters flooded the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, causing widespread looting and destruction of the city. The delay in deploying the National Guard, which Walz was responsible for, led to nearly two weeks of unrest, with street battles and police precincts being overrun.

In contrast to J.D. Vance, the millennial senator nominated as Trump's running mate, Walz's candidacy as a 60-year-old makes him the only vice-presidential candidate from the Midwest. Vance's unique background of growing up in a working-class town is no longer singular, and Walz's pro-union stance is influential among Midwest states and blue-collar voters. His experience as a two-term governor further underscores Vance's relative lack of experience.