With so much at stake for students, educators, and families in the coming election, Vice President Kamala Harris' choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate was received with celebration and fanfare across the country. A former teacher and National Education Association (NEA) member, Walz is an ardent champion of students, public education, and working families. His selection signals that a Harris-Walz administration would build on the historic accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration, which NEA President Becky Pringle has praised as “the most pro-public education and pro-union administration in modern history.”
“The country’s educators and students have always been able to count on Vice President Kamala Harris. She has delivered once again for students, educators, and working families with the exceptional choice of Governor Tim Walz as her running mate,” Pringle said. “Gov. Walz is known as the 'Education Governor' because he has been an unwavering champion for public school students and educators, and an ally for working families and unions. As a high school teacher and NEA member Walz is committed to uplifting our public schools.”
From the classroom to the U.S. Congress to becoming “The Education Governor”
After growing up in rural Nebraska, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard as a teenager. He attended college on the GI Bill, earned through his military service.
Soon after, Walz embarked on a nearly two-decade long career teaching high school social studies and geography — first in Alliance, Nebraska, and then in Mankato, Minnesota He met his wife, Gwen, when they were both teaching in his native Nebraska.
Walz, like many public educators, wore a lot of hats. He was an educator who was named “most inspiring teacher” for his dedication to his students. He was a football coach who took his team to the Minnesota state championship for the first time in school history. He supervised the lunchroom – a role that he jokes caused him to lose some of his hair. And he was the faculty advisor to his school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) in 1999.
After being encouraged by his students, Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, winning the election in Minnesota’s rural, red 1st congressional district. Despite his district’s conservative leanings, he successfully won re-election five times. As a member of Congress, he never forgot his roots in the classroom and was a voice for educators and students. During his 12 years in Congress, Walz consistently championed pro-public education policies. He was a leader in advocating for fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and repeatedly introduced and championed bills to do so. He also leaned on his classroom experience in efforts to focus federally mandated assessments on teaching and learning rather than high-stakes consequences.
When he decided to run for Governor in 2018, Walz told supporters he would be the “Education Governor.” This wasn’t just rhetoric: Walz’s commitment to public education runs deep.
Walz’s background as a public school teacher and NEA member gave him unique insight into the needs of Minnesota’s public schools, and it is clear in his priorities that he never forgot his roots.
Making Historic Investments in Minnesota Public Education
Ahead of the 2023 budget process, Walz pledged to make the largest investments in Minnesota public education in state history. He delivered on his promise, signing a package of bills into law that increased public school funding, earmarked more money to address the shortage of school counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and chemical dependency counselors, and helped districts better fund their services for students with special needs. The bill package also included a provision to allow Minnesota teachers to access their pensions a year earlier. After Walz signed the 2023, Education Minnesota President Denise Specht called it “a life-changing package of funding and policy for the working conditions of educators and the learning environments of students.”
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz Oppose Vouchers
While Walz has made investments in students in public schools, he joins Vice President Harris in his opposition to vouchers. As governor, Walz blocked all attempts to bring school vouchers to Minnesota.
Relating to his experience growing up in rural America, Walz told MSNBC, “They [Republicans, Trump] talk about private schools. Where in the heck are you going to find a private school in a town of 400? Those are public schools. Those are great teachers that are out there making a difference and gave us an opportunity to succeed.”
Addressing Child Poverty and Food Insecurity
One photo of Walz has gone viral on social media: in it, a group of public school students hug a beaming Walz after he signed a bill into law providing universal free school breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota public school children. During the March 2023 bill signing ceremony, Walz told attendees that "I do think this is one piece of that puzzle in reducing both childhood poverty and hunger insecurity.”
Expanding Paid Family Leave
In late May 2023, Walz signed legislation that will provide all Minnesota employees 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave a year, regardless of where they work. Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave plan, set to begin in 2026, will allow workers to take paid time off each year for a variety of purposes: the birth of a child, caring for a sick loved one, and even caring for a survivor of sexual or domestic violence. The NEA has long voiced support for expanded paid family leave legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.
To critics of this law and his other initiatives, Walz memorably tweeted a few weeks later that “you don’t win elections to bank political capital – you win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”
Fighting for Common-Sense Gun Safety Reforms
While Walz is a gun owner and hunter, he also supports common-sense gun control legislation. He has said that the Parkland, Florida, shooting made him realize the urgency of America’s gun violence epidemic.
John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that recently partnered with the NEA to produce a school gun violence prevention guide, said of the Walz pick: “Governor Walz signed a sweeping package of gun safety bills into law just last year, so it’s no surprise that Vice President Harris, who helped lead the strongest gun safety White House in history, picked him as her running mate."
Supporting collective bargaining and educators
While Governor, Walz expanded the topics of bargaining in state law so teachers can negotiate for educator-to-student staffing ratios. He also signed a bill adding the preschool and adult education teachers to the main bargaining units in their districts, giving many educators once-in-a-lifetime pay raises and showing overdue respect for their work.
“Gov. Walz has never hesitated in his defense of collective bargaining or his commitment to improving the lives of students, educators, and their families,” said Education Minnesota President Denise Specht.
NEA Supports the Pro-Public Education, Pro-Union Harris-Walz Ticket
While Minnesotans will be sad to see Walz go, “Minnesota’s loss is America’s gain,” Specht said.
Pringle agreed, contrasting the Harris-Walz ticket with the extreme policies supported by Donald Trump and JD Vance: “Trump’s extreme, unprecedented Project 2025 agenda would fundamentally alter the American government and jeopardize our children’s futures and give Trump unprecedented power over our daily lives. He wants to ban books, take learning opportunities away from students, make educators pay more in taxes than billionaires, and eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Simply put, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance would be disastrous for the future of our country.”
“The choice in this election couldn’t be more clear. The 3-million members of the NEA will show their power by turning out, volunteering and making their voices heard because we know that electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is the only way we can take America forward,” Pringle concluded.
