After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sprang into action to protect the rights of Black residents in the state. Now he’s waltzing into Kamala Harris’ fiery political Democratic campaign for the White House as her vice-presidential running mate.
As Minnesota governor, Walz enacted police reforms after George Floyd. He signed into law legislation that protects Blacks from discrimination in the workplace based on their hairstyle. He established a task force to address the murders of Black women. He used the state’s budget to invest in underserved Black neighborhoods.
Today, as Harris’ vice-presidential running mate, Walz has the potential to cement Harris’ strong appeal to Black voters as he seeks to boost her campaign to win over midwestern swing states with his easy-going, folksy leadership style and a civil demeanor that contrasts with the polarizing Republican team of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
As Minnesota governor, Walz signed into law police reforms after Minneapolis Derek Chauvin killed Floyd in 2020. The law bans chokeholds, mandates a handful of trainings and imposes a duty on officers to report and intervene when their colleagues use excessive force. The law also created a team to provide mental health services for police officers and other emergency responders.
The law also prohibits aggressive “warrior” training techniques that could increase the likelihood of excessive force. It also created an independent statewide investigation unit for deaths and sexual misconduct involving police officers, and mandates the creation of a database for already public records related to police conduct.
In 2021, Walz established the Missing and Murdered African American Women’s Task Force to address the deaths and violence committed against Black women. In 2023, Walz signed the CROWN Act to prevent discrimination against Black and brown employees with hair styles that includes braids, locs and twists.
Last July, Walz signed the African American Family Preservation Act, which increased protections for families who are disproportionately facing separation through the foster care system.
Under the law, judges will have to more carefully scrutinize Minnesota’s Child Protective Service agencies’ decisions to remove children from their homes.
Michigan and Wisconsin are the two swing states that Harris needs in November to make history and become the nation’s first Black woman president.
Harris picked Walz out of an intense field of candidates that included Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Kelly and Shapiro were both viewed as moderates who could balance Harris’ progressive agenda. Kelly is a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut whose strong background on the US-Mexico border would have strengthened Harris’ vulnerability. Shapiro is a widely popular governor in Pennsylvania, the biggest and most important swing state.
But there were concerns that had Harris picked Kelly, Arizona’s Republican governor would have appointed a Republican Senator and increased the possibility of Republicans regaining control of the Senate. And despite his strengths, Shapiro was viewed as a liability because of his strong pro-Israeli stance during the Hamas war. A decades-old op-ed piece that Shapiro wrote was viewed as offensive to Palestinians.
Harris believes Walz, another moderate, would make a perfect vice president. The New York Times reported that Walz, Kelly and Shapiro underwent an intensive interview process that included Harris’ team conducting polls and focus groups as well as review records.
But the Times also reported that when Harris met Walz, “it was an instinctive reaction to an instant connection rather than a data-driven exercise.”
Former Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond told The Times, “She wanted someone who understood the role, someone she had a connection with and someone who brought contrast to the ticket.”
