Walz officially accepts the nomination for vice president and tells Democrats that the election is about freedom

Walz delivered a message of unity and repeated the campaign's new slogan: “We are not going back.”

Former members of the West High School football team from Mankato, Minnesota, marched onto the stage in their old jerseys. Then Walz took the podium to give his most significant speech yet.

Wearing T-shirts reading “Maryland Tough, Baltimore Strong” and buoyed by Governor Wes Moore’s speech, the Maryland delegation waved pole-mounted signs reading “Coach Walz.”

Diana Emerson, a delegate from Baltimore City, said Walz was “agitated” as she left the arena.

“It really feels like a rally. He gives you all the facts. He doesn't give you filler words. He doesn't give you nonsense,” Emerson said. “He tells you what we need to do, all the things his team is going to do to make sure we cross the finish line and are successful in 75 days.”

Ken Ulman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, said Walz seemed like a “normal person.”

“He was able to convey the message that, at the end of the day, we should elect people who are good people and who are in office for the right reasons,” Ulman said.

As he had done in the last weeks of the election campaign, Walz also spoke at the party convention about the ten years he spent as a high school social studies teacher and football coach in Mankato.

Eric Luedtke, top lawmaker for Moore and a former middle school teacher, told CNS after Walz's speech that it was amazing to see a former fellow teacher on the national stage.

His educational background, said Luedke, makes Walz a good leader.

“I think teachers are the best leaders because they know how to help people,” said Luedke, who is also a delegate. “Being a good teacher means understanding what drives students and how to support them. Being a good leader means understanding the people you represent and knowing how to support them.”

Like Walz, Maryland Rep. Andrew Pruski, who represents Maryland's 5th Congressional District, is a former social studies teacher. Pruski, who taught at Frederick Douglass High School in Prince George's County from 2001 to 2005, cited Walz's past in school and the military as a reason he is so excited that Harris chose Walz as her running mate.

Rep. Dylan Behler of Maryland's 3rd congressional district said he knew about Walz's experience providing free lunches to students in Minnesota before Harris was elected. Last year, Walz signed a bill to provide universal school lunches, closing loopholes in the National School Lunch Program by no longer requiring families to prove they have financial need.

Behler also sees Walz's previous achievements as an advantage for Harris: “As a teacher from Nebraska and as a representative of rural Minnesota in the House of Representatives, I believe he can directly appeal to voters across the country, but especially to the more independent or moderate voters.”

Walz brings a rural charm to Harris' White House bid. While Harris is from Oakland, California, Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, a town of 3,500 that voted overwhelmingly Republican in the 2024 primary.

“When you grow up in a small town like this, you learn to look out for others,” Walz said.

This small-town origin may appeal to Marylanders from the state's more rural communities, including Garrett and Allegany counties and the East Coast, who tend to vote more conservatively than the state's urban and suburban counties.

At the Wicomico County Fair last week, residents' enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket was palpable, said Megan Outten, a delegate from Salisbury, Maryland.

“Republicans came to the table, long-time Republicans, who for the first time in their lives said they were going to vote for a Democrat and it was going to be Harris,” Outten told CNS.

Outten said Walz gives rural Americans a chance to feel represented.

“I think a lot of our rural communities have felt really disconnected from our past campaigns,” Outten said. “This is an opportunity to really find themselves in the White House.”

Lillia Rose, 22, chair of the Mountain Maryland Young Democrats for Garrett and Allegany counties, said Walz has also been in touch with undecided voters in rural areas of the state.

“As someone from rural Maryland, we face challenges that are different than the rest of the state,” said Rose, who is also a member of the Garrett County Central Democratic Committee. “Seeing someone like him really gives me hope that rural concerns are being heard and represented.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Wednesday that Walz's rural background does not mean he would not appeal to urban voters.

“We know what Tim believes in,” Scott told CNS. “When people understand how much money he has invested in education in Minnesota, when they understand how he has worked with mayors like my good friend Melvin Carter to reduce gun violence in the city of St. Paul and in Minneapolis, we will really understand that he is someone who has our best interests at heart, even though we may not be a rural area here.”

Walz signed a gun safety bill earlier this year with numerous provisions, including a state ban on double triggers, which allow firearms to fire two bullets with a single pull of the trigger, and “straw man purchases,” in which someone purchases a firearm on behalf of another person who does not have the legal right to own a gun.

These gun control regulations were introduced after Walz changed his stance on guns following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre; he had previously received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.

“I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress and got the trophies to prove it,” Walz said. “I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe that our first duty is to protect our children.”

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who served with Walz in the U.S. House of Representatives for one term, praised the governor's military background.

“He served in the military,” Brown said. “There are fewer and fewer Americans serving in the military. We have a great deal of respect for the military. That says a lot about its values: integrity, courage, dignity and commitment.”

“Tim Walz is not only a fantastic choice, but he is the man of the moment,” said Rep. Adrian Boafo of Bowie, who is also a congressional delegate. “As a former congressman and governor, he has experience implementing and fighting for progressive policies. He is an inspiring choice with a great track record that will not only motivate the base, but also bring new voters to the Harris coalition.”

Appropriately, Walz used a football metaphor to galvanize the crowd into action before the vote: “It's the fourth quarter. We're down a field goal, but we're on offense and we've got the ball. We're charging down the field… our job for all of you watching is to get in the trenches and block and tackle, one at a time, one yard at a time, one phone call at a time, one door knock at a time, one $5 donation at a time.”

“We have 76 days, that's nothing,” said Walz. “When you're dead, you still have time to sleep.”