Kamala Harris’ pick for Vice President on the Democratic ticket is Minnesota Governor and new internet celebrity, Tim Walz!
Walz grew up in rural Nebraska and, after graduation, served in the National Guard for 24 years. With his GI benefits, Walz got his social sciences degree and went on to be a football coach and social studies teacher at public schools in Nebraska and Minnesota. Walz was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006, representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District, and served five additional terms. Walz won his first election for governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. As a union member himself, Walz understands, respects, and works with organizers and fights for working class families.
The 2023 Minnesota state budget that Walz signed into law codified abortion rights, granted twelve weeks paid family and medical leave and sick leave, protected gender affirming healthcare, banned conversion therapy, made MN a trans refuge state, granted driver’s licenses for undocumented residents, restored voting rights for formerly incarcerated folks, expanded voting access, established automatic voter registration, granted rebates for families making less than $150k per year and tax credit for low-income families with children, invested $1 billion in affordable housing including rental assistance, mandated background checks for private gun transfers, legalized recreational marijuana, expanded education funding, required a carbon free electric grid by 2040, removed lead pipes across the state, among many other historic wins.
Tim Walz showed his willingness to co-govern and do the right thing when he listened to his constituents after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. He donated all his campaign contributions ($18,000) from the NRA to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund, helping families of service members who were injured or killed. Since then, he’s supported “common sense” safeguards, background checks, and red flag policies and rejected the gun lobby’s extremist lie that all gun safety measures contradict the Second Amendment.
The Walz pick is a win for working people and a testament to the militant progressive organizers in Minnesota and across the country who demanded nothing less than a bold, progressive vision for the future of our country. The Democratic party knows they can’t get across the finish line without us. They know our movements are powerful, and they listened.
Governor Josh Shapiro, who’s popular in our battleground state with a list of accomplishments, was also in the running for VP pick, but our moderate Democrat governor came with additional baggage. A source familiar with the process said, “He just didn’t fit the assignment”. He has stated he likes to do things “on his terms” and set his agenda, so when he tried to interview VP Harris back, he came off as overly ambitious. Not only that, but Shapiro had significantly more detractors than Tim Walz because of his aggressive pro-Israel stance, support of private school vouchers at the mercy of billionaires like Joel Greenberg and Jeff Yass, his hypocritical stance on fracking, and a sexual assault scandal involving one of his former top aides, Republican Mike Vereb. Shapiro may have presidential ambitions, but if he wants the support of Pennsylvanians, he’ll have to commit to co-governing with working class people like Walz did
Organizing got us this ticket.
It was organizers in Minnesota with movements like Faith In Action MN and Take Action MN that have been building the people and political power for years that brought us to this moment and won real shit for their people along the way. They strategically chose to invest in everyday people through training and leadership development to elect and co-govern with progressive champions and improve people’s lives across their state. The rest of the country took notice and is excited for Tim Walz because American families want good policies, like the many mentioned above, that help improve their lives, not strip them of their freedoms. We can do the same in Pennsylvania. Our movements need to be an engine for organizing and leadership that doesn’t disappear as soon as a policy passes or the election happens. We work to implement real change, dreaming of what we can win next!
Take responsibility for our democracy with us by applying for a paid fellowship with our partner org, Lead Locally. You’ll receive training, resources, and a paycheck to get out the vote for our down-ballot endorsed candidates! Apply here by Monday, August 12, send to folks you know who might be interested, and reply to this email with any questions!
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In community,
— Edwin, Mary, and Hannah: PA Stands Up Comms Team