Philadelphia: Republicans are gloating. They say Kamala Harris handed them a gift in picking Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate.

On the one hand, the two-term Minnesota governor brings a lot to the Democratic ticket. His backstory as a retired Army National Guardsman, a former high school teacher and a football coach is central casting for election candidates.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.Credit: AP

He spent 12 years in the US Congress, repeatedly winning a conservative rural district that had elected only one Democrat since 1892.

And he’s a genuinely nice guy, whose plain-speaking style went viral in recent weeks when he started referring to Donald Trump and his heir apparent, J.D. Vance, as “weird” – a description that has now become the catchcry of the Harris campaign.

But on the other hand, Walz’s record of progressive policies – from protecting gender-affirming care and expanding voting rights for former prisoners, to pushing for an end to coal-fired power plants – has given Republicans a predictable opening to brand the little-known governor as “dangerously liberal”, a “West Coast wannabe”, and part of “the most radical ticket in US history”.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate........

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