s soon as President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the re-election bid and nominated Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, speculation about her chances to reach White House as the next US president intensified.

This is uncharted territory for a woman candidate. Hillary Clinton fought twice but failed: once in the Democratic primaries in 2008 and once against Donald Trump in 2016. Hence, every move Kamala Harris makes is under scrutiny. One major decision everybody waited with bated breath was her pick for a running mate (vice-president). It took her just over two weeks before she zeroed in on Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota.

There were six contenders on the short list, every one under constant media spotlight. They were Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, four state governors - Andy Beshear (Kentucky), JB Pritzker (Illinois), Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Tim Walz (Minnesota) – and US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. All of them went through a rigorous vetting process. In the end, there seemed to be tie between Tim Walz and Josh Shapiro.

At one point, Josh Shapiro, a former attorney general and currently governor of Pennsylvania was believed to be the front-runner. He is considered a firebrand rising star within the Democratic Party. His connection to Pennsylvania, a battleground state, that both parties desperately need to win to improve their chances, made him a standout candidate. But Shapiro is also Jewish, and the US has never had a Jewish president or vice president.

In addition, Shapiro’s staunch support for Israel in the ongoing Gaza conflict worked against him in the final calculations. Had Harris picked him, it could have alienated the left-leaning liberals in Democratic Party as well as the youngsters who have vociferously protested Israeli atrocities at their academic institutions. That’s where Walz became an easier choice than Shapiro.

The Republican Party is trying to project Kamala Harris as somebody who doesn’t belong in the White House because “she is not even Black” or “has South Asian roots.” In this context, it was understandable that the choice for a VP was between six white men who could balance the ticket and bring to the table some qualities that the Republicans were trying to take advantage of.

The choice was eagerly awaited as Donald Trump had already introduced his VP pick, JD Vance, at the Republican National Convention.Vance is going around the country addressing rallies and giving interviews. While he has become the centre of attention, it also gave the Democrats an opportunity to have a good look at him and decide accordingly as to who could give him a tough competition. Tim Walz ticked that box, too. While Vance appears arrogant, Walz has a “go-to guy” air about him.

But who is Tim Walz? He was born in a small town in the state of Nebraska. He enrolled in the Army National Guard after high school and served for 24 years. The National Guard also paid for his college education. His father was a schoolteacher. That was also the career Walz chose for himself. He started teaching in China for a year before returning to Nebraska and eventually Minnesota where he taught social studies and coached the school football team. His wife is a teacher too.

Shapiro’s staunch support for Israel in the ongoing Gaza conflict worked against him in the final calculations. Had Harris picked him, it could have alienated the left-leaning liberals in Democratic Party as well as the youngsters who have vociferously protested Israeli atrocities at their academic institutions. That’s where Walz became an easier choice than Shapiro.

Walz started volunteering for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 before running for the US Congress in 2006. He sprang a surprise in a traditionally Republican congressional district when he defeated the six-term Republican incumbent, Gil Gutknecht. He was elected to the Congress five consecutive times before running for and getting elected as the governor of Minnesota in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022 and now chairs the Democratic Governors’ Association.

Walz has the vibe of a down-to-earth midwestern dad and dresses and talks like one. These qualities are likely to make him appealing to the voters. He is also known to be a good negotiator who has managed to bridge the partisan divide on key issues in his state. He has called for a lasting two-state solution in the aftermath of Israel-Gaza conflict, while also signing a bill that made it possible for illegal immigrants to get driving licences.

He is an advocate of climate change action, abortion rights and LGBTQ rights. Under his watch, Minnesota became the third state in the US to make school lunch free for all students. He also signed a bill that prevented the libraries from restricting access to any material because of “partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

Since the start of the Democratic campaign, Tim Walz has become a passionate voice in the Democratic Party and has taken the attack to the Republicans. His frequent use of the term “weird” for Donald Trump and JD Vance was quickly embraced by the Kamala Harris campaign. It caught-up on social media so well that Donald Trump was forced to defend himself against the “weird” tag publicly.

Walz, previously a gun owner and hunter himself, has shifted his stance on gun control after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 and the 2018 school shooting in Florida. As governor, he has signed legislation to restrict guns. Consequently, the National Rifle Association, which traditionally backs Republican Party, recently gave him an “F” rating, although at one point he had received their “A” rating and donations.

Immediately after Walz was announced as the VP nominee, it was speculated that the Republicans might target him for the George Floyd incident. Foyd was a victim of police brutality in Minnesota in 2020. However, an audio recording of Donald Trump emerged just a day later in which the former president is heard praising his handling of the entire episode. The audio leak is likely to prove a timely reprieve for him.

Some of the observers who have followed Tim Walz’s political journey compare him to Bernie Sanders who had the backing of younger demographic, working class voters, and left-leaning groups because of his progressive ideas. Although Sanders didn’t win the Democratic nomination, Walz’s nomination for the ticket raised hope that these groups can rally behind him. Although he is not as well-known on the national stage as Josh Shapiro, whom he beat in the nomination race, he is surely someone whom the average voters can identify with.

Interestingly, Walz made his first appearance with Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, the state governed by Josh Shapiro. He launched a sharp verbal attack on Donald Trump and JD Vance in his trademark impromptu style. During the interviews cycle, he was the only candidate who told the vetting team that he had never read from a teleprompter.

Walz has challenged Vance to a debate. Although the Democratic Party had accepted the request for a VP debate before Biden dropped out, no date or time has been finalised. Debate or no debate, the next three months are likely to see a lot of fireworks from both sides. The presidential election that had started to look like one-sided before Biden withdrew is now anything but… It is turning into a race that will go right down to the wire.

The writer teaches journalism at Lamar University in Texas. He tweets at @awaissaleem77