Tim Walz will seek to build on the intense enthusiasm surrounding his and Kamala Harris’s campaign on Wednesday, as the newly anointed vice-presidential nominee headlines the third night of the Democratic national convention in Chicago.
Wednesday’s programming will also include some of the best-known names in the Democratic party, including the former president Bill Clinton and the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Top congressional Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader; Cory Booker, senator of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar, senator of Minnesota, are slated to speak as well. And some of the party’s biggest rising stars – including the US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, Maryland governor, Wes Moore, and Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro – will address the convention.
Walz’s speech will give him an opportunity to introduce himself to a much wider audience of voters, as most Americans were unfamiliar with the Minnesota governor before Harris selected him as her running mate earlier this month. An ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted last month, shortly after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris, showed that only 13% of Americans knew enough about Walz to register an opinion of him.
“He will introduce himself to the American people tonight on the convention stage, highlighting the small-town values that have shaped his lifetime of service and his commitment to safeguarding the freedoms that we all hold dear,” said Alex Hornbrook, convention committee executive director.
Walz has an early advantage in cultivating a positive image, as he has captured the internet’s imagination in the past few weeks. Fans of the friendly governor have showered social media platforms with memes depicting him as the father figure that America needs right now. On the campaign trail, Harris often introduces her running mate as “Coach Walz” to remind voters of his background as a teacher and football coach.
Over the first two days of the convention, Walz has reinforced the image of a “joyful warrior” as he has made a habit of popping in on state delegation breakfasts and caucus meetings to visit with supporters and promote Harris’s campaign.
“He’s a good man. He’s been there for me,” Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, said at a briefing on Wednesday. “He’s going to be a great vice-president. He’s going to be a great role model for all Americans.”
Like Buttigieg and Shapiro, Beshear was named as a potential running mate for Harris before she selected Walz. Even though he missed out, the Democrat has served as one of the most vocal supporters of the newly formed Harris-Walz ticket over the past week.
“With Vice-President Harris and Tim Walz leading the way, we will bring joy back to our country,” Beshear said. “We will fight every day, and as Tim Walz says, we’ll sleep when we’re dead, and we will win this election this November.”
The theme of Wednesday’s programming will be “A Fight for Our Freedoms”, mirroring a message that Harris has embraced in her campaigning. The Democratic nominee has invigorated crowds with her argument that fundamental freedoms are on the line this year, telling voters: “We won’t go back.”
Walz’s speech will also showcase his governing record as a “champion for America’s working families” and “defender of our fundamental freedoms”, Hornbrook said. Since Minnesota Democrats won a legislative trifecta in 2022, Walz has signed a series of bills to enshrine abortion rights into state law, protect access to gender-affirming care and make it easier for people with a felony conviction to vote.
“When you look at Tim, you see a Democratic governor delivering results in every community, from the cities to the suburbs to rural towns,” Beshear said. “Like Vice-President Harris, he has worked around the clock to help middle-class families get ahead.”
In addition to Walz’s speech, Pelosi’s remarks will be closely watched to interpret her opinion of Harris’s path to victory, after the former speaker played an important role in urging the president to exit the race. Clinton will become the third president to address the convention, after Biden headlined Monday night’s programming and Barack Obama spoke on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Obama implored Democrats to do everything possible to elect Harris in November, emphasizing that time was of the essence.
“If we each do our part over the next 77 days – if we knock on doors and make phone calls and talk to our friends and listen to our neighbors – if we work like we’ve never worked before – we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States, and Tim Walz as the next vice-president of the United States,” Obama said.
During the speech, the convention crowd chanted: “Yes, she can!” as a homage to Obama’s motto of “Yes, we can!” in 2008. Like Obama did in 2008, Harris will be looking to make history this year, and she will have the chance to deliver her own pitch to the nation on Thursday.
Away from the convention stage, pro-Palestinian demonstrations turned more contentious on Tuesday night, when protesters clashed with Chicago police. The Chicago police superintendent, Larry Snelling, said his officers had shown “restraint” and denied allegations that they had “kettled” protesters, referring to a controversial practice that involves maneuvering demonstrators into a confined space and arresting them.
According to the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, at least 72 people were arrested.
Democratic convention highlights:
Bill Clinton and Tim Walz’s speeches on day three: what to know
Tim Walz to highlight ‘small-town values’ in convention speech
Barack and Michelle Obama have cast Harris as their heir
Here are the rising stars and politicians to watch this week
What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
