America was introduced to a fresh political family on Tuesday when Vice-President Kamala Harris appointed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
While Gwen Walz, the two-term governor’s wife, may not officially be on the ticket, her background is getting plenty of attention too.
An educator for more than two decades and life-long Minnesotan, Ms Walz was an agenda setter during husband’s time in office.
She prioritized education and criminal justice reform, initiatives that could see traction in Washington with a Harris-Walz White House.
Ms Walz, 58, met the Minnesota governor when the two were teaching in Nebraska.
They married in 1994 and share two children Hope and Gus.
Mr Walz has previously spoken about the couple’s infertility struggles and how they used IVF to conceive.
While Mr Walz created a social-media forward platform for himself during his time as governor, Ms Walz appears to have taken on a less-public role.
She only created an Instagram account in recent days. She also participated in few media interviews as Minnesota’s First Lady.
When she does speak publicly, however, it is often about her commitment to education, criminal justice reform and how the two intersect.
“Education is transformational. And I believe that in every sense of the word,” Ms Walz said during a 2019 interview with PBS. “And if we’re going to solve problems, we have to look at real ways to solve problems. And education is a real predictor of not going back to prison.”
Her first public event as first lady of Minnesota was a rally for restoring convicted felons’ voting rights.
Ms Walz also chaired a task force on recidivism and toured state prisons.
“It’s a crucial conversation to have,” Ms Walz said in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio in 2019. “I’m convinced that people are looking for ways to address all kinds of different issues within corrections and within criminal justice.”
She is said to advise her husband and she is the first Minnesota governor’s spouse to have a office in the state capitol.
Since her launch into national politics this week, she’s also been on the receiving end of criticism from the right, especially for comments she made during Minneapolis’ 2020 racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd.
In a now viral clip, Ms Walz described the smell of the burning tires and said she kept the window open for as long as she could “because I felt that was such a touchstone of what was happening”.
Republicans are using the clip to cast Ms Walz, and her husband, as too far-left for voters.
By BBC News
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