Frenzied speculation over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ pick for her vice presidential running mate came to an end Tuesday, with the current vice president reportedly choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her successor should they win in November.
Walz’s profile has risen in the weeks since President Joe Biden announced he was bowing out of the presidential race.
The Midwesterner has appeared regularly on national television programs to make the case for Democrats, coining the now widely adopted “MAGA is weird” line of attack, and winning fans as he advocates for liberal policies with the same folksy charm that’s made him popular in his home state.
Some are calling his persona “Midwestern Dad” energy, citing his background as a high school teacher and football coach. But Minnesotans know Walz as something even more specific: a “Minnesota Lutheran” Dad.
Here are five faith facts about Walz:
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Walz, like many Minnesotans, is Lutheran
Walz is Lutheran, as is more than 20% of the Minnesota population according to Pew Research Center, making it one of if not the most Lutheran state in the U.S. thanks to a wave of Scandinavian Lutherans who settled in the region in the 19th century.
He does not often discuss his faith publicly but has posted about attending worship during Christmas and other services at various Lutheran churches. Walz refers to Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul — a congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline denomination — as “my parish.”
Walz, who was sworn in as Minnesota’s governor in January 2019, sometimes describes himself as a “Minnesota Lutheran,” an identity he frames as a sort of Midwestern cultural subtype. He has referenced the idea during speeches, such as when he addressed the North America’s Building Trade Unions legislative conference in April.
“Because we’re good Minnesota Lutherans, we have a rule: If you do something good and talk about it, it no longer counts,” Walz said after he was introduced. “So what you have to do is to get someone else to talk about you.”
He made a similar joke while speaking at a conference hosted by the Center for American Progress last year, suggesting that, like Minnesota Lutherans, Democrats don’t talk enough about their accomplishments. When moderator and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne asked aloud if that made Democrats political Lutherans, Walz responded, “I don’t know — maybe.”
In 2019, Walz appointed Jodi Harpstead, the former head of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and a self-described “Lutheran girl” herself, to run the state’s Department of Human Services.
If elected, he would be the second (and maybe first) Lutheran vice president
If elected, Walz would become only the second Lutheran vice president, depending on how you count it.
There are multiple Lutheran denominations in the U.S., all of which trace their lineage back to Martin Luther, the famed German priest who is credited with ushering in the Protestant Reformation that begat all of Protestantism. Some Lutheran groups are affiliated with American evangelicalism, but the largest — and the one associated with Walz’s own church — is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline denomination on the more liberal end of the spectrum.
The only previous vice president connected to the tradition was another Minnesotan, Hubert Humphrey, who was raised Lutheran but ended up attending a Methodist church after his family moved to a city where there wasn’t a Lutheran one available.
Were Walz to follow Harris’ lead and run for president one day, he would become — if elected — the first Lutheran president.
He faced blowback from religious communities — including conservative Lutherans — during the pandemic
Walz was one of many governors who imposed restrictions on worship in his state during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also one of many governors who faced pushback from religious communities, especially conservative ones: On May 22, 2020, leaders of Minnesota Catholic communities and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a conservative Lutheran denomination, both announced they would return to in-person worship that weekend in direct defiance of Walz’s restrictions, arguing it was hypocritical to bar people from worship while opening the Mall of America.
Two days later, Walz announced he would ease restrictions on houses of worship, allowing churches and other religious communities to open at 25% capacity so long as they adhered to social distancing. He cited new guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but also voiced his own discomfort with the restrictions.
“I certainly want to acknowledge to those Minnesotans who find the contradictions maddening: So do I,” he said.
He rallied with faith leaders after the death of George Floyd
As protests erupted in Minnesota after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, Walz huddled with faith leaders from the state, hoping to stem violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Within days of Floyd’s killing, Walz hosted a news conference featuring community leaders; elected officials such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Attorney General Keith Ellison; and faith leaders, including the Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson, Imam Asad Zaman and Rabbi Aaron Weininger.
Many of the speakers condemned violence, but also urged Minnesotans to join nonviolent protests, call for police reform and voice outrage at Floyd’s murder.
“For those watching, this is our Minnesota,” Walz said at the end of the conference, his arms outstretched. “This is who we are. This is the decency, this is the compassion, and this is the community of who we are. You hear the passion — no one up here is going to leave justice unserved.”
He has advocated for the Minnesota Muslim population
Minnesota is home to a significant and influential Muslim population that Walz has interacted with on numerous occasions. Somalis, more of whom live in Minnesota than any other state, are primarily Muslim — including Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of only three Muslim members of the current U.S. Congress. The first-ever Muslim to serve in Congress is also a Minnesotan: Ellison was a U.S. representative before becoming Minnesota’s attorney general.
Walz, for his part, has regularly attended iftar dinners and Eid al-Fitr celebrations, welcomed a Muslim delegation with a speech during a Muslim Day at the Capitol in 2019, visited Muslim communities that have been victimized by vandalism and spoken at events hosted by local chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other Muslim groups.
Jack Jenkins is an award-winning journalist and national reporter for the Religion News Service.
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148 Responses
Continued- however in 2 Timothy 3:16. He includes all scripture. Different Greek words referring to scripture (15vs16). Verse 16 doesn’t separate doctrine/actions. It’s deeply woven together. To be fair Jen doesn’t believe in the authority of scripture as Cynthia, myself or others. I’m not slamming her, just pointing it out. I do think the Roys Report focuses via reporting on action vs doctrine. I am deducing that Jen and Cynthia for example have totally different beliefs. One is wearing a Packers jersey and the other a Bears jersey. That doesn’t mean they are enemies. But they will each face Christ one day. I challenge us all to read Matthew 7. But the oppress/opressor dynamic has been a lens of politics and biblical interpretation. Point is we are seeing things from a different foundational perspective. Please don’t lump people. Conservative Christians do not always think Republicans have the answer. I actually think that the corruption is equal on both sides. Give each other more credit. That’s Taking complex people and summarizing them into categories. But it is a valid deduction that we aren’t on the same page. I do think we all need to be honest. Especially when we are wrong. I will commit that if Tim Walz explains his military service and is honest about lying. I will have respect. Just like if Trump admits he has sinned and needs forgiveness. I believe both need authentic biblical Christianity.
“There are only seven states plus Washington, D.C. in this country that allow abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason, and Mr. Walz is responsible for one of those seven. His law is so radical, he even stripped parental consent, so a minor can get an abortion without their parents ever knowing.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/aug/8/not-your-average-grandpa-tim-walz-champions-right-/
Folks
I suggest we pray for all of them. There are no perfect candidates. And all of them Are neither the antichrist nor are they pur saviour. They have an incredibly difficult job to, and they are not our enemies. Theo are made in Gods image and Need his grace as well as our prayer.
Love, Thilo
The following article explains a lot regarding the Walz/Harris binary. It’s worth a read.
https://johnkassnews.com/can-harris-walz-hide-who-they-are-without-media-help/
I got through about 3/4 of it but couldn’t get any further. Pretty full of hyperbolic claims, name calling and insulting language that I try to avoid. Much healthier debate on the issues can be found
Yeah. I couldn’t do it either. The hyperbole in that article makes it unreadable, and utterly unconvincing to anyone who doesn’t already disdain the Harris/Walz ticket. I’m open to objective critique, but to say that a newsroom was taken over by Marxism, which is objectively not true, makes me wonder if anything he says is true, or if it’s all just as wildly exaggerated.
This is just (rotted) red meat for the base.
Jen:
It’s his way of getting his points across. He is a gifted writer and incredibly talented when it comes to political commentary.
Why not refute the claims? I’m no fan, Kass can be annoying. As far as Walz goes, his abdication of authority during the Floyd riots is well documented. I don’t care what faith Walz claims to be. He’s another example of someone whose politics inform his religion.
Daniel I already explained why I don’t engage with that.
But since you ask the direct question, My answer is that looking back to that time I don’t think everything was handled in the best way.
Here’s a pretty fair account. While it looks like the response could have been faster, there are reasons why it took as long as it did:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/despite-new-criticism-trump-told-walz-2020-happy/story?id=112616502
However, if one is going to criticize Walz, one also needs to acknowledge Trump’s words of praise in the days following:
“I know Gov. Walz is on the phone, and we spoke, and I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days,” Trump told a group of governors on June 1, 2020, according to a recording of the call, in which he also called Walz an “excellent guy.”
“I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim,” Trump continued. “You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast it was like bowling pins.”
Tricia, my criticism of Walz doesn’t make me a Trump supporter. I’m not. Walz’s handling of the rioting is completely inexcusable and unforgivable. I see this year’s election as a race to the bottom. Just like last time, I seriously doubt Trump really wants to win. He’s more interested in hurling insults and grandstanding. If he wanted to win, he would stop alienating the demographic he needs and stick with the issues people care about.
Tricia:
Note the words “last couple of days.”
What happened during those specific days? What changed?
Tricia,
John Kass is an incredible writer. I am sorry you didn’t like his article. He tends to use a lot of sarcastic humor to get his points across. In this particular article, he relied on factual information and applied his classic wit to highlight the appalling record of both Democrat candidates.
Cynthia,
Thanks for posting the article. A great piece: easy to read and spot-on about the horrible ticket of Harris-Walz.
Jim,
Thanks for the kind comments. My husband and I find John Kass remarkably gifted when it comes to political commentary.
This post will soon have over 150 comments. Most I can summarize as Waltz who has faith is going to Hell. Trump who has no faith is going to Heaven. For me at least I find most of the posts challenging Walz faith disgusting.
Tom, totally agree. I see more fruit of the spirit in Tom Walz than I see in most people, and definitely more than I see from many of the Christians in this thread, who somehow feel justified in talking this way about a brother in Christ, because they have simply decided that he’s not one. Many of them have also decided that I’m not their sibling in Christ either, so I guess I’m in good company? I guess I’m fine being on the outside of their world, and now it’s even better with Walz there, cause that guy’s great. Not perfect, sure, but great.
Jen and Tom,
Only God can decide the ultimate destiny of each human being. What we know from scripture is that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. This means that those who do not accept Christ are destined for an eternity without God. How horrible!
As believers, we cannot know what resides in the hearts of other believers. All we can do is look at what others actually support – what their life reflects, their ACTIONS.
If we try to objectively look at Walz’s actions and what he supports, he seems to believe abortion at any time, for any reason, is okay. He seems to believe Muslims and Christians do not differ when it comes to their eternal destiny. He seems to believe aberrant sexual behavior is fine. He seems to think sinful behavior/criminal behavior can be justified if one looks at the circumstances surrounding it.
In short, his actions and beliefs do not comport with Biblical morality.
Since this is the case, why would you claim he “has faith” and is “great”?