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How Tim Walz became Harris's running mate and how he compares to Vance.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's path to becoming Democrat Kamala Harris's 2024 vice presidential candidate began in small towns in Nebraska, where Walz was born, grew up and went to school.

Walz – who recently gained national attention for calling the Republican Party “weird” – was a high school teacher, football coach and member of the National Guard before being elected to Congress in 2006.

In the coming weeks, Walz's political career, military service, politics, and trajectory from Nebraska to Minnesota to Washington will be examined, dissected, and analyzed.

It begins with a comparison between Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance, who was chosen by former President Donald Trump as his running mate.

How do Walz and Vance compare?

Walz's journey from Nebraska to Washington

1964: Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, a town of about 3,500 people northwest of Omaha. His family later moved 240 miles to Valentine, Nebraska, south of the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

1981: Joins the Nebraska Army National Guard at age 17 while attending Butte High School in Butte, Nebraska. He will specialize in heavy artillery and earn proficiency badges in sharpshooting and hand grenade firing.

1982: Graduates of Butte High School.

1989: Graduates with teaching degrees in social sciences from Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska.

1989-1990: Teaches high school classes in China in a program sponsored by Harvard University. Also teaches on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota.

1990-1996: Teaches at Alliance High School in Alliance, Nebraska.

1994: Marries Gwen Whipple; they met in Nebraska.

1996-2004: Moves to Mankato, Minnesota. He teaches and coaches the football team at Mankato West High School. The team wins its first state championship in 1999.

1996-2005: Transfers to the Minnesota National Guard.

2001: Receives a Master of Science degree in educational leadership from what is now Minnesota State University, Mankato, in Mankato, Minnesota.

2005: He retires from the National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, after 24 years of service, including deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. As Command Sergeant Major, he is the highest-ranking National Guard soldier serving in Congress.

play

How a viral comment helped secure Tim Walz's vice presidential post

Harris and other Democrats quickly followed suit after Walz called Donald Trump “weird.”

2006: Wins election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota's 1st congressional district. He is re-elected in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.

2018: Elected 41st Governor of Minnesota and will be re-elected in 2022.

2024: Selected as Kamala Harris's running mate.

Featuring: Sam Woodward, David Jackson, Sudiksha Kochi, Joey Garrison, Rachel Barber, Phillip M. Bailey, Savannah Kuchar, Rebecca Morin, George Fabe Russell and Emily DeLetter

Source: Reporting and research by USA TODAY Network; Reuters; US Army; walzflanagan.org; mn.gov; Chadron State College

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