MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Kamala Harris has picked her running mate.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: He's the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big. And that's the kind of vice president he will be.
MARTIN: We are told that Harris barely knew Minnesota Governor Tim Walz before they met for an interview over the weekend. Days later, though, he joined her on stage last night in Philadelphia, the fresh face of a campaign he said feels a lot different than it felt not so long ago.
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TIM WALZ: Thank you, Madam Vice President, for the trust you put in me, but maybe more so, thank you for bringing back the joy.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Tim Walz may be a new name for many Americans. He's grabbed attention for his rural roots, his appeal in the Midwest and for the folksy way he attacked Republicans, as he did last night.
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WALZ: You know it. You feel it. These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell. That's what you see (laughter).
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WALZ: That's what you see.
MARTIN: Dana Ferguson has been covering Walz for years as a political reporter at Minnesota Public Radio, and she's with us now to give us some home-state perspective. Good morning, Dana.
DANA FERGUSON, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So Governor Walz has shown up on the national radar in the last few weeks as a kind of, you know, Midwestern dad. Is that how he's seen at home?
FERGUSON: I think that's pretty authentic to who he is. You know, he's an earnest person. He would pick a T-shirt and jeans over a suit and tie, if he had his way. And he likes to roll with the dad jokes, so the branding there seems fairly on target.
MARTIN: But, you know, it does seem like he knows how to use those dad vibes to deliver a punch. Have you seen that before?
FERGUSON: Yes. He's not afraid to do that sort of political dressing-down of opponents with a one-liner. If he likes a joke or if he feels like it's effective, you'll hear him repeat it. So that's probably why that weird line has really gained traction. And there were a couple zingers last night, too, that I bet will make their way into the rotation.
MARTIN: And also kind of are meme-worthy, right? So...
FERGUSON: Yes.
MARTIN: ...Are there some memes that have popped up this summer that you want to tell us about in case we've missed them so far?
FERGUSON: Yeah, I think the one that I've seen the most, at least in sort of local circles here, is of Governor Walz cradling a piglet at the Minnesota State Fair. And it jokes about him being the VP pick - and this was before he was actually selected - and some folks who are supporters feeling like they were the little piglet being cradled.
MARTIN: OK. I guess you got to see it.
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MARTIN: So let's talk policy, though. What policies is the governor best known for in Minnesota? What would you say are his signature accomplishments?
FERGUSON: He worked to get some things done during divided government. He was able to pass a balanced budget with a Senate Republican majority and a House Democratic majority. But what he's really known for over the past couple of years is just the laundry list of priorities that Democrats were able to pass in 2023. So that included funding free school meals for students, a child tax credit, legal protections for abortion, legalized marijuana, new protections for workers and for voters. And the list really just goes on.
MARTIN: So you have to assume that the - that just from a policy perspective, progressives in the Democratic Party will be pleased with this. But there's a sense that - at least you get the sense that from a national perspective, there are Democrats who think he can help with more centrist swing voters. Is there evidence of that from his record in Minnesota?
FERGUSON: I think there is. He has proven that - at least during his time in Congress and his first couple of years serving as governor here - that he can work across the aisle with Republicans, as well as with more moderate Democrats. He's picked up support from moderate Democrats on the national stage. I think he made a name for himself on issues around veterans and agriculture. And I think he will try to make the point to folks in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and beyond that he is someone who has that rural community grounding, having grown up in Nebraska, and that's something that he can really connect with them on.
MARTIN: And, Dana, what do you think his vulnerabilities might be?
FERGUSON: Republicans are likely to criticize him over his response to the riots following George Floyd's murder. They say he should have called up the National Guard sooner. We've already started hearing that from former President Trump and others, too.
And there was also widespread fraud that was uncovered in a pandemic-era program here called Feeding Our Future that was meant to get meals out to kids. Audits have shown that there was some lax oversight by the Minnesota Department of Education. But the governor's administration has said the department reported concerns about fraud to the federal government. So those are both likely to pop up.
MARTIN: And before we let you go, how are Minnesotans reacting to this pick?
FERGUSON: Yeah, we've seen a wide variety of reactions. There were folks outside the governor's mansion yesterday cheering as he left for Philadelphia. Some folks are sad that the governor might leave Minnesota to become vice president if the Democratic ticket wins. Meanwhile, Republicans and others just say that he's not the right pick for this, and they don't think he can do it.
MARTIN: That's Dana Ferguson. She's senior politics reporter at Minnesota Public Radio. Dana, thank you.
FERGUSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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