Polls show that the folksy Minnesota governor, now Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, is still relatively unknown on the national stage.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has a lengthy political résumé. But as he introduced himself to the nation, it was his time in the classroom and on the sidelines that he relied on the most.

Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election, elevating the progressive midwestern Democrat whose clear and caustic messaging about former President Donald Trump—labeling him “weird”—has gone viral in recent weeks.

Harris would have found it easier to win Pennsylvania with Josh Shapiro rather than Walz, according to a top political scientist.

"I'm not complaining,'' Walz said at the time. "It's just figuring how to make all your finances work." Financial disclosures from his time serving in the House said Walz made up