Walz formally accepts vice presidential nomination, tells Democrats election is about freedom

Walz offered a message of unity and echoed the campaign’s new tagline, “We are not going back.”

Former members of the Mankato, Minnesota, West High School football team paraded onto the stage in their old jerseys. Then Walz made his way to the podium for his most high-profile speech yet.

The Maryland delegation, decked out in “Maryland Tough, Baltimore Strong” t-shirts and buoyed from Gov. Wes Moore’s speech earlier, waved signs on poles that read “Coach Walz.”

Diana Emerson, a Baltimore City delegate, said Walz was “fired up” as she walked out of the arena.

“It truly feels like it’s a rally. He’s giving you all the facts. He’s not giving you filler. He’s not giving you fluff,” Emersonsaid. “He’s telling you what we need to do, all the things that his team will do to make sure that we cross the line and that we’re successful in 75 days.”

Ken Ulman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, said Walz comes off as a “regular person.”

“He was able to deliver that message to drive home that at the end of the day, we should elect people who are good human beings; who are in it for the right reasons,” Ulman said.

Like he has on the campaign trail in recent weeks, Walz also told the convention about the decade he spent teaching high school social studies as well as coaching football in Mankato.

Eric Luedtke, chief legislative officer for Moore and a former middle school teacher, told CNS after Walz spoke that it was amazing to see a fellow past-teacher on the national stage.

His teaching background, Luedke said, sets Walz up to be a good leader.

“I think teachers make the best leaders because they know how to serve people,” Luedke, who is also a delegate, said. “Being a good teacher is about getting to understand what’s driving your students and how to support them. Being a good leader is about understanding the people you represent and how to support them.”

Like Walz, Maryland delegate Andrew Pruski, representing 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 2001-2005,cited Walz’s history serving in schools and the military for why he’s so excited that Harris chose Walz to be her running mate.

Delegate Dylan Behler, from Maryland’s 3rd congressional district, said that before Harris picked Walz, he was aware of the governor’s record of providing free lunches to students in Minnesota. Last year, Walz signed a bill to provide universal school lunch, filling gaps in the National School Lunch Program by eliminating the requirement for families to demonstrate financial need.

Behler also sees Walz’s record as an asset to Harris: “As a school teacher from Nebraska, and representing rural Minnesota in the House – I think he can speak directly to voters across the country, but especially more independent or moderate voters.”

Walz adds rural appeal to Harris’ bid for the White House. While Harris hails from Oakland, California, Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, a town of 3,500 residents that voted overwhelmingly Republican in the 2024 primary election.

“Growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other,” Walz said.

Those small-town origins may speak to Marylanders from the state’s more rural communities, including Garrett and Allegany Counties as well as the Eastern Shore, which tend to vote more conservatively than the state’s urban and suburban counties.

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

“We were having Republicans come up to the table, life-long Republicans, who said for the first time ever, they’re going to be voting for a Democrat, and it’s going to be Harris,” Outten told CNS.

Outten said that 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 see themselves really reflected at the White House.”

Lillia Rose, 22, the president of the Mountain Maryland Young Democrats for Garrett and Allegany Counties, said Walz also connects with undecided rural voters on the panhandle of the state.

“Being someone from rural Maryland, we face challenges that are different from the rest of the state,” said Rose, who is also a member of the Garrett County Central Democratic Committee. “So seeing someone like him really gives me hope that rural issues are being heard and advocated for.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said on Wednesday that Walz’s rural background does not mean he doesn’t also appeal to urban voters.

“We know what Tim believes in,” Scott told CNS. “When people understand the amount of funding he put into education in Minnesota, when they understand how he’s worked with mayors like my good friend Melvin Carter to reduce gun violence in the city of St. Paul and in Minneapolis, we will understand truly that he is someone that, while we might not be a rural place, that he has our best interests at heart.”

Walz signed a gun safety bill earlier this year with multiple provisions, including a state ban on binary triggers, which allow firearms to discharge two bullets with one pull of the trigger, and “straw purchases,” where someone purchases a firearm on behalf of someone else who cannot legally own a gun.

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

“I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress, and I got the trophies to prove it,” Walz said. “I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.”

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

“He served in the military,” Brown said. “You have fewer and fewer Americans who serve the military. We hold the military in high regard. That speaks a lot about his values: integrity, courage, dignity and commitment.”

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

Fittingly, Walz included a football metaphor encouraging the crowd to act before the election: “It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field … our job for everyone watching is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling, 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 got 76 days, that’s nothing,” Walz said. “There’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead.”