Until recently the name Tim Walz (60) was completely unknown to most Americans outside his home state of Minnesota. In five months, however, the governor could be sworn in as the next vice president of the United States. Although no number 2 has ever decided the outcome of an election, Walz has given the Harris campaign fresh impetus.

In the end, it was clear that the Democratic candidate would choose either Walz, or Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. Both were seen as smart choices as they would help Harris consolidate her position in the critical swing states of the Midwest. Walz brings qualities to the race that position Harris to take on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the final three months.

The jack-of-all-trades is a late bloomer who only entered the political business in his early 40s. He is not labelled as a career politician, a tag which puts off many voters in the important Midwest. Walz was born in a rural area of Nebraska, studied social sciences at a small university and worked in agriculture. He volunteered for the National Guard and worked as a teacher for 20 years. First on an Indian reservation and then in China, where Walz met his wife Gwen.

However, the father of two first developed an interest in politics in 2004 as a volunteer for Democrat John Kerry's presidential campaign. In 2006, Walz was elected to Congress to represent his home state of Minnesota and was confirmed in office five times. The sociologist has been in government in the capital St. Paul since 2019. One advantage he has over his Republican opponent J.D. Vance is that the Republican is positioned partly to the right of his designated leader Donald Trump.

Walz, on the other hand, holds moderate views, both on economic and social issues and in the ongoing dispute over the immigration problem. During the global financial crisis, he stood up against the state rescue programme for systemically relevant banks. He was also critical of government aid for the car industry. Walz called on the Obama administration to quickly divest its stake in the car companies. On the other hand, he supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which created new jobs during the recession through infrastructure investments.

The governor also favours stricter gun laws that would still protect the right of citizens to own firearms. Walz supports the right of every woman to freely decide whether to have an abortion. He strongly condemned the attack on Israel last October, but still calls for the humanitarian treatment of civilians in Gaza.

The most important advantage of the Harris-Walz pairing could be the contrast between the two candidates for the vice presidency. In contrast to the polarising figure of Vance, Walz is seen as a down-to-earth cheerful person. In fact, he has a CV in which many Midwestern voters recognise themselves. Both Trump and Vance, however, had already counted on these voters.