Minnesota Governor Tim Walz formally accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president at the DNC on Wednesday. A former public school teacher, high school football coach and National Guard member, Walz spent six terms in Congress before his successful run for governor in 2018. We take a look at his record, including his “moderate” record on police brutality following the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, with two guests: Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic and Minneapolis City Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison, who is the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz’s progressive wins in Minnesota appear to have swayed Kamala Harris’s selection, says Marcetic, as Harris hopes to mirror parts of his agenda on the federal level. “I think that he’s sincere in his efforts to see change,” says Jeremiah Ellison, who is also an “uncommitted” delegate and goes on to discuss the uncommitted movement’s strategy at the DNC.
