Yingguan Tianxia｜He became Harris's deputy: a governor from a rural area who worked in China
2024-08-07
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On August 6, local time, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris confirmed her running mate: Minnesota Governor Waltz. Previously, the media speculated that most of the candidates on the list were governors of "swing states", and Waltz was an "unpopular" candidate. The Associated Press believes that Harris is attracted by Waltz's label of "Middle East governor, veteran and union supporter", which can help him win the support of white voters in rural areas of the United States.
Waltz data map
I have been a teacher for many years and have worked in China.
Compared with many American politicians, Waltz did not come from a prestigious school, nor is he a professional politician. Before he was 40, he worked as a high school teacher and school football coach. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard for 24 years and also worked in China. He started a company to organize educational travel activities to China for American high school students. It is reported that he is also a Democratic governor with outstanding political achievements.
Waltz, 60, was born in a rural town in Nebraska, in the Midwestern United States. After graduating from high school, Waltz, 17, joined the U.S. Army National Guard at the encouragement of his father. He graduated from Chadron State College in Nebraska in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in social sciences. After graduation, Waltz came to China through a project and taught in Foshan, Guangdong for a year. He still speaks a little Mandarin. When asked why he went to China, he said, "China is coming to us, so I went to China."
After returning to the United States, Waltz taught at a school in Nebraska. During this period, he fell in love with his colleague Gwen. The two got married in 1994 and moved to Gwen's hometown of Minnesota two years later. Here, they continued to teach at Mankato West High School. In addition to being a teacher, Waltz was also the coach of the school football team and led the team to win the state championship. Waltz and his wife have a son and a daughter. In 2001, he also received a master's degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
The Waltz Family
During the 2004 US presidential election, Waltz had the idea of entering politics and became a grassroots political coordinator for then Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. In 2005, Waltz retired from the National Guard after serving for 24 years. During his service, he performed missions in Arkansas, Texas, Minnesota, and even the Arctic.
In 2006, Waltz announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives, establishing himself as a moderate, voter-focused, veteran welfare advocate, and ultimately defeated six-term Republican Gil Gutknecht and was elected. The Washington Post commented that "he had already lived a complete life before entering politics."
During his 12 years in the House of Representatives, Waltz served on the House Agriculture Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee. In 2018, he announced his candidacy for governor of Minnesota and also defeated his Republican opponent.
Midwestern governors who are “benchmarking” Vance
During his tenure as governor, Waltz promoted policies such as free school lunches, tax cuts for the middle class, clean energy, increased paid leave for workers, and increased funding for public schools. In 2020, riots broke out in many parts of Minnesota due to the "kneeling death" of African-American man Floyd by the police. As governor, he stepped in to respond and asked the legislature to hold a special session to discuss police reform.
In November 2022, Waltz was re-elected as governor, and the Minnesota Democratic Party also won, not only retaining the state House of Representatives, but also winning control of the state Senate. His achievements were recognized by the Democratic Party. After the Minnesota legislative session ended last year, former Democratic President Obama praised Waltz on social media: "These laws will bring real changes to the lives of Minnesotans."
CNN reported that incumbent President Biden performed poorly in the first presidential candidate debate in June this year, which aroused concerns among many Democrats, but Waltz defended Biden many times. After Biden announced his withdrawal from the election, Waltz immediately expressed his support for Harris.
Some analysts believe that Harris' choice of Waltz as the vice presidential candidate is intended to "benchmark" Trump's running mate Vance. Vance served in the US Marine Corps and is from the "Rust Belt", and is also a white representative from rural areas. Waltz seems to be well aware of this. He "shouted" at a rally, saying, "I also grew up in the Midwest. Vance studied at Yale University, his career was funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a best-selling book criticizing the region where he grew up. That's not what the Midwest of the United States looks like! I have to tell you, I can't wait to debate this guy."
In addition, Waltz and Harris also form a "complementary" relationship. Harris is from California and has little influence in rural areas and the Midwest, while Waltz makes up for this shortcoming. Many analysts believe that he will help the Democratic Party gain the support of rural white voters and the working class in Midwestern states. A Democratic official said that Waltz's sincerity impressed Harris, "His words, deeds and appearance are very similar to many Trump-supporting voters that we have not been able to win over."
Waltz's disadvantage is that he is not well-known across the United States. A joint poll released by National Public Broadcasting Corporation and other media showed that 71% of respondents had never heard of Waltz or were not sure how to evaluate him, 17% of respondents had a positive evaluation of Waltz, and 12% of respondents had a negative evaluation of him.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump has attacked Harris and Waltz on social media, calling them "the most left-wing duo in American history." Waltz described the Trump-Vance combination as "weird" in an interview in July this year. Next, Harris will join hands with Waltz to launch a five-day campaign campaign, traveling to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada to win votes in "swing states." Today, Harris's support rate is comparable to Trump's, and these states play a decisive role in the outcome of the election.
(Reporter Wang Xiaoying from Qilu Evening News and Qilu One Point Client)
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