It was just August, when Vice President Harris picked the relatively unknown Midwestern governor as her running mate. The campaign had little time to introduce Walz to voters before his primetime speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Now he's speaking on another big stage Tuesday night as he squares off against Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance.
With nearly two decades of time in elected office, Walz has evolved from straddling partisan divides to championing progressive priorities.
Walz signed several progressive proposals without much support from Republicans in 2023. He passed a $72 billion budget package that expanded free meals to schoolchildren, required all Minnesota power plants to use 100% climate friendly energy by 2040 and codifying the right to abortion in the state.
While his record has shown that he has made these proposals a priority, tonight he'll need to appeal to moderate voters as well.
Walz has been preparing with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who was sitting in for Sen. JD Vance during debate rehearsals.
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