On Tuesday, August 6, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz, the present governor of Minnesota, as her VP running mate. He took office in 2019 after serving 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives serving on the Agriculture, Amed Services and Veterans Affairs committees. The last two posts are especially significant, because Governor Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and retired as a command sergeant major.

The Democrat was also a teacher and a football coach. He is well known for his big dad energy, wrapped up in a tremendous amount of Midwestern charm.

He has a lot of charisma and is a great public speaker. While in Congress, Walz was known as a member who would reach across the aisle to work with his Republican colleagues, since he represented a swing district. His ability to break down common sense facts into a folksy Midwestern way gives him gravitas across the Rust Belt.

While on the campaign trail, the governor delivers his speeches with a blend of humor, warmth and compassion.

This is an everyman, who constantly reminds us of someone we met while growing up in the classroom or the fields of play.

During his on-camera interviews and in speeches at the many campaignstops that the Harris-Walz team has undertaken since the August 6 announcement, the governor has been the hard puncher and the attacker on many issues, so the vice president doesn’t have to in this very partisan political landscape.

Walz’s first speech took criminality head-on reminding folks that during Trump’s presidency the crime rates were up, and under Joe Biden’s leadership, crime rates have come down substantially around the country. He joked, “Make no mistake. Violent crime was up under Donald Trump. And that’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”

As a running mate, Walz is a perfect choice for the new Democratic Party. Looking forward, his policies are centrist and have been based on what’s best for his community, expanding free breakfast and lunch to all students in public schools to help all children have the full ability to learn. He passed universal background checks for guns to take assault weapons off the streets of his community. He signed into law a scholarship program to cover tuition costs at all Minnesota public colleges to all residents whose families earn less than $80,000. This increases the ability of all people in his community to have a chance to get a college education regardless of their economic status.

Walz increased LGBTQ protections, and many feel that this was a result of him being the faculty advisor for a the first gay-straight alliance group at the state’s Mankato West High School. He was seen as a moderate in Congress but has instituted a variety of liberal policies as governor. And candidly, he is just what is needed in a Democratic running mate — one who can continue to inspire Democratic voters in this close upcoming election.

While providing and increasing other social and economic safety net programs, Walz is also a backyard barbecuing, steak and cheeseburger eating, all American, military serving type of football coach. So, he’s going to be hard to paint as a crazy left leaning liberal, like the Republican campaign likes to try to do to all Democratic candidates.

Now, it’s not a long way from the election, and the stats are showing that the vice president’s choice of Walz as a running mate has yielded some positive upturn. This is the same type of excitement that Kamala generated when she entered the race.

Over the past few weeks, the Kamala Harris/Tim Waltz campaign has made many stops across the country, and throughout their many stops it is clear that America is ready to embrace these two and look towards an optimistic future, as opposed to wallowing in the negative lie filled conspiracy theories the Republican candidates continue to throw at their campaign.

History is also in the making for the state of Minnesota, because present Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flannagan could become the first female Indigenous governor in United States. An early advocate of the Walz’s decision to run for that office, Lt. Governor Flanagan has championed legislation that helps underserved communities of color in the North Star State and was an early advocate of changing the state flag to a design that was more representative of the state.

It is imperative that all people who believe in the United States as a just society come out and take part in the upcoming election and stand up for their rights as individuals. It is clear that one American party wants to enshrine freedom and equal opportunity within its laws and institutions and structures, and another party wishes to utilize lies and corrupt, self-serving goals to achieve power. We must all cherish the truth and vote for the candidate that stands for the truth of our society.