Rachel Leingang

Who is Tim Walz?

Minnesota’s governor captured the internet’s attention and swayed Democrats’ messaging by succinctly summing up how he views Republicans: they’re weird.

Clips of Walz have spread widely, cementing him as a national voice for Kamala Harris’s campaign – and a potential pick to run alongside her as vice-president.

Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe.

Walz first ran for office in 2006 in a Republican-leaning congressional district, knocking off the incumbent in an upset. He kept the district until 2016, dispatching Republicans over and over. In 2018, he ran for governor and won, then defended the seat successfully in 2022.

He’s now the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a perch that has given him a national profile.

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Martin Pengelly

Who is Josh Shapiro?

Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, is a leading contender to be named Kamala Harris’s running mate.

A congressional aide turned state representative and state attorney general, the 51-year-old father of four was elected governor in 2022.

Close to two years later, he maintains historically high approval ratings, including notable support from Republicans, his numbers outstripping such ratings both for Harris and for the GOP ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance.

In 2020, the declaration of victory in Pennsylvania confirmed Joe Biden’s election win over Trump.

In 2024, the state is again one of the most important presidential battlegrounds.

On Tuesday, Harris will stage her first event with her vice-presidential pick in Philadelphia, the state’s biggest city: a move that did little to quell speculation that Shapiro will be that pick.

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Harris to announce VP pick

Martin Pengelly

Kamala Harris is set to announce her choice of a running mate today, before they appear together at an evening rally in Philadelphia to kick off a five-day tour of the swing states that are crucial to winning the presidential election.

The culmination of what has been a lightning-fast vetting process – it is little more than two weeks since Joe Biden, the 81-year-old president, made the historic decision to stand aside and Harris became the de facto nominee – has seen a round of interviews both in person and online.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the search had narrowed to two governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota.

Harris, 59, interviewed both men, as well as the Arizona senator Mark Kelly, over the weekend at the Naval Observatory, the Washington DC residence of the vice-president.

Three other men were reported to be on her shortlist: the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker; the Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear; and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is now the US secretary of transportation.

With polling showing her gaining on Donald Trump – CBS gave the Democrat a one-point edge nationally and put the candidates level in battleground states – and a rocky rollout for Trump’s own vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, speculation has been rife as to whom Harris will select.

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