Before Tim Walz emerged in the national spotlight as Kamala Harris’ running mate, the midwestern veteran retained a low profile — but he was not unknown.
Prior to becoming the governor of Minnesota, Walz served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019, and he cosponsored a number of bills with U.S. representatives from Georgia.
Though U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., feels that Walz was a great pick, he said he wasn’t “in front of the cameras” as often as his other colleagues in Congress.
“He was really kind of a low-key guy,” he told WABE. “He was a very nice guy. Just a regular guy, a good human being.”
So when Johnson heard that Walz was the Democratic vice presidential candidate, he felt he wasn’t as high profile as some of the other frontrunners in the veepstakes. But since Walz has started stumping for Harris, Johnson said he has been “a great campaigner and a great speaker,” which will help him connect with swing voters.
“I think Tim will be a hit in Georgia, because he knows how to talk to all people. He relates well to everyone,” Johnson said. “He likes people, he likes interacting with people and when people get to know Tim, they will like him the same way they like Kamala Harris.”
As a legislator, Johnson said Walz advocated for working-class families and veterans. Another one of Walz’s former colleagues, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga., said Walz’s rural, working-class background makes him “a great match for Vice President Harris on the ticket.” Bishop and Walz both served on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
“With his understanding and familiarity with production agriculture, he was able to make a great contribution there in Congress,” Bishop said, speaking on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” radio show on WABE on Monday. “And of course as vice president, he will be very, very familiar with the policies that impact rural America.”
Bishop praised Walz’s “capacity to communicate across the aisle” as a Democrat representing a district of Minnesota that swung between the Democratic and Republican parties. In the House, Johnson added that Walz was “gentlemanly” and “never angry or at odds” with his colleagues.
His openness also meant that he was willing to update his views when necessary, according to Johnson, who said Walz “evolved” during his time in Congress.
“I think Tim is a guy who honestly looks at the issues, looks for solutions to the issues that affect the people who he’s concerned about, and then he’s not afraid to change his opinion,” Johnson said.
Nevertheless, not all of his former House members aligned with Walz’s views. Doug Collins served as a Republican U.S. representative from Georgia from 2013 to 2021, overlapping with Walz’s term in the House.
“He has taken very much of a lefthand turn as governor of the state of Minnesota, but he was a very liberal member while he was in Congress as well,” he said on an Aug. 7 episode of “The Doug Collins Podcast.”
Collins called Harris decision to pick Walz “the perfect base pick,” pointing to Walz’s support of transgender people seeking gender-affirming care, and for broad protections for abortions, labor unions and environmental policies. Collins also criticized Walz’s response to the Minneapolis Black Lives Matter protests after the police murder of George Floyd.
“This is by far one of the most, if not the most liberal, ideological ticket that we’ve ever seen in politics,” he said.
But Collins said Walz’s progressive stances won’t hold up in swing states.
“I’m not sure why the media has all of a sudden said Georgia is now in play because of Tim Walz. I just don’t see that,” he said. “Harris is not popular in Georgia. Walz will be less popular in Georgia than Harris will be once his record is defined.”
Now, Collins said, comes the fight to define Tim Walz’s policy record.
According to Johnson, Walz is a “pragmatist.”
“I think if you look at his career and you look at the legislation that he has supported, it’s been good for the people of this country and the people of the state of Minnesota while he was governor,” he said. “I mean, who can argue with free lunch for kids? If you wanna call that socialism, so be it.”
For Bishop, Walz injects the Democratic presidential campaign with renewed vigor.
“He’s the kind of person that everybody likes, he’s plain-spoken, no nonsense, and he tells it like it is,” he said. “People like him, and I think you can see the energy he has brought to this ticket, along with Kamala Harris, and I think it’s exciting.”
