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Tim Walz is set to deliver the biggest speech of his life on Wednesday, marking the escalation from a relative political unknown a month ago to Kamala Harris’ running mate in the most closely watched U.S. presidential election in decades.
Walz’s prime-time speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention will be a chance to introduce himself to the American electorate and deepen his attacks on Donald Trump.
Mr. Walz, the Minnesota governor, popularized his description of Mr. Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, as “kooks,” an attack line repeated by other speakers on Wednesday, along with efforts to portray the Republican candidate as right-wing extremists.
Ms. Harris earlier this month selected Mr. Waltz, 60, a former military officer and teacher, to replace President Joe Biden in the November election and to fast-track her selection of a running mate. She also considered Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly as possible running mates.
Walz, a six-term U.S. congressman, is seen as a valuable asset to Harris as she tries to win over working-class voters in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Trump campaign has tried to portray Waltz as a dangerous liberal who lied about his more than 20 years of service in the Army National Guard, and hard-line Republicans have also raised questions about Waltz’s ties to China.
Polls show that while Walz remains little known to many voters, he remains popular.
A new poll released Wednesday by Democratic polling firm Blueprint found that 44% of voters have a favorable opinion of Walz, while 22% said they had never heard of him or had no opinion at all.
Walz’s speech is scheduled to come one day before Harris is due to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination and address the party and the American electorate herself.
The speech will be a chance for the two Democrats at the top of the candidate list to speak of unity despite the ongoing internal bickering over Biden, who dropped his own candidacy under pressure from party leaders who questioned his fitness to run for president.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is among the party leaders who have urged Biden to back down, is due to be on a list of speakers Wednesday that also includes former President Bill Clinton.
Relations between Biden and Pelosi have remained frosty since the president ended his campaign, and Biden told reporters after his convention speech on Monday that he had not spoken to Pelosi since leaving office.
Pelosi has shown little sign of downplaying her role in Biden’s departure, telling an audience at a Democratic National Convention event hosted by The Washington Post: “I have a great relationship with the president and we just wanted to win this election. So it’s unfortunate if they’re upset, but the country is very happy.”
Democrats are also divided over the Gaza conflict, and the Democratic National Convention took place amid street protests in Chicago against the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas.
One of the most moving moments Wednesday night came when the parents of Hersh Goldberg Pollin, an Israeli-American held captive by Hamas, appealed for a ceasefire that would lead to the release of the hostages. The crowd chanted, “Bring them home!”
