Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was catapulted into the spotlight after he was named Kamala Harris ’ running mate ahead of the upcoming US election. Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years and was a high school geography teacher before running for Congress. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Tim Walz was a high school teacher and served in the National Guard for 24 years. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/23/12d191ae-4130-410d-9150-626f82dcbbcd_2ca45db1.jpg"} Tim Walz was a high school teacher and served in the National Guard for 24 years. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram Walz has gone viral for calling out Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate J.
D. Vance as “weird guys”. The two vice-presidential nominees have been taking shots at each other over the past few weeks and are expected to face off in an October debate.
Walz also just gave a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention , which ended on August 22. As Walz gears up for the fiercest political battle of his career, all eyes are on his family, who could soon become America’s new second family. During his time in office, the father of two has been open about his relationship with his children, Hope and Gus.
Here’s what you need to know about the kids who have influenced their father’s political career. Tim Walz’s kids were born and raised in Mankato, Minnesota {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Tim and Gwen Walz raised their kids in the small town of Mankato, Minnesota.
Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/23/acfb256d-39ff-44b5-8c32-a22493c9a7a7_7390c88c.
jpg"} Tim and Gwen Walz raised their kids in the small town of Mankato, Minnesota. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram After getting married in 1994, Tim and his wife Gwen moved to Mankato, Minnesota where they worked as teachers at Mankato West High School. They eventually chose to raise their children in the town.
Known as the soybean crushing capital of the world, per the town’s website, Mankato has a quaint feel with plenty of coffee shops and parks. Why Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, turned to fertility treatments {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Tim Walz welcomed his first child after seven years of marriage to his wife, Gwen.
Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/23/83ecab19-3d2e-4937-bfd9-662943ded5d5_c7a1440f.
jpg"} Tim Walz welcomed his first child after seven years of marriage to his wife, Gwen. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram Tim has been open about the battle he and his wife faced in conceiving children. He told The Minnesota Star Tribune that Gwen had fertility treatments for seven years while trying to get pregnant.
In 2001, their daughter Hope was born, with her name a reference to their ongoing battle to conceive. Then, in 2006, they welcomed their son Gus. “I remember praying every night for a call for good news.
The pit in my stomach when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn’t worked,” the politician said, per Today. How Tim Walz’s kids, Hope and Gus Walz, influenced his politics Tim again opened up about their battle to conceive after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos created by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are considered children – a decision that could jeopardise the future of IVF in the state. Tim said the ruling had become “personal” to him.
However, Gwen clarified recently that Hope was conceived after she had undergone IUI treatment. Per Glamour, after the Parkland school shooting in 2018, when 17 students and teachers were murdered, Hope encouraged her father to stop taking donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA). Tim said he not only stopped taking NRA donations, he gave the donations he had already received to charity.
The Walz’s positive attitude towards Gus Walz’s mental health issues {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Gus Walz, Tim Walz’s son, has a non-verbal learning disorder. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/23/d65b0822-fcb3-4fa7-a9e6-b58bbd4d9649_d7491f3d.jpg"} Gus Walz, Tim Walz’s son, has a non-verbal learning disorder.
Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram In August, Tim and his wife spoke about Gus having a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder. “Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up,” Tim said, per People. “It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback – it’s his secret power.
” At the Democratic National Convention, Gus burst out crying during his dad’s speech accepting his vice-presidential nomination, and was seen mouthing, “That’s my dad,” indicating the stage. Tim Walz has a close relationship with his daughter, Hope Walz {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Tim Walz shares his dad-daughter moments with Hope Walz on social media.
Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/23/b25618a1-5701-45d9-9df6-308798dc517a_7390c88c.
jpg"} Tim Walz shares his dad-daughter moments with Hope Walz on social media. Photo: @mngovernor/Instagram Tim has often shared images of his dad-daughter experiences on social media, from adventuring outdoors and fly fishing together, to picking her up from Taylor Swift concerts. The pair appear to have a close relationship.
Per The Star Tribune, Hope graduated from Montana State University last year and is a social worker in Montana. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has taken shots at Trump and Republican VP nominee J.D.
Vance, calling them ‘weird guys’; his son Gus burst into tears during Tim’s VP acceptance speech at the DNC He and his wife Gwen Walz have been open about undergoing fertility treatments – Tim called the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling ‘personal’ – and how Gus’ learning disorder is a ‘secret power’.
