CHICAGO — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his party's nomination for vice president Wednesday and used his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for "bringing the joy" to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. "We're all here tonight for one simple, beautiful reason: We love this country," Walz said.
He described his upbringing in Nebraska and teaching and coaching football in Minneosta and told the crowd, "Thank you for bringing the joy to this fight." "While other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours," he said. In a dig at his Republican counterpart, JD Vance, he added, "I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale.
" When Walz talked about the difficulty conceiving his daughter, Hope, she made a heart with her hands and held it over her chest. His son, Gus, wept watching his dad speak and at least once shouted, "That's my dad!" "I haven't given a lot of speeches like this but I've given a lot of pep talks," Walz said. Democrats gathered at Chicago's United Center hope to build on the momentum Harris brought since taking over the top of the party's presidential ticket last month after President Joe Biden stepped aside.
They're also making clear to their supporters that they face a fierce battle with Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. Many Americans never heard of Walz until Harris made him her running mate. .