"Its the honor of my life, to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States," Governor Tim Walz said Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and also thanked the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates hoisted vertical placards reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.
Many Americans had never heard of Minnesota's governor until Harris made him her running mate, and the speech was an opportunity to introduce himself. He leaned into his experiences as a football coach, his time in the National Guard and his recounting of his family’s fertility struggles — all parts of his biography that Republicans have questioned in the days since Harris picked him.
After the speech, the delegation from Minnesota was in full-on party mode.
"Most everyone is gone for the night, but the Minnesota group is still here chanting, laughing, sharing in this moment as Tim Walz took the stage," WCCO's Susie Jones reported from the convention floor after the speech.
"I talked to so many people right after it was over and they all had something different to say," Jones continued. "I talked to (Reps.) Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig as well as a number of delegates about what they thought of his speech, and how it really in the end turned out to be something to try to unify, not just the Democrats but the entire country."
Will this one speech attract new voters? Of course that's unclear, but Walz took his time to further charm Democratic supporters with his background and helped to balance Harris’ coastal roots as a cultural representative of Midwestern states whose voters she needs this fall.
"That was incredible," one delegate told WCCO. "I've never seen anything like it. I can't believe I'm here this year of all years. To be here, I really appreciate how both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz know what it means to take care of your neighbors, and when they say it, I believe it and I trust them."
For years, Republicans have caricatured Democrats as coastal elites who have little in common with ordinary Americans.
Walz tried to use his biography as a hunter, teacher, football coach and national guardsman from the Midwest to disarm those attacks, which Republicans in the past have wielded with merciless efficiency.
His presence on the ticket offers a counterweight in a year when Republicans are trying to paint Harris as a California liberal with dangerous ideas.
During his speech, Walz sought to turn Republican arguments on their head while making an appeal for common sense rooted in his Midwestern values.
“When they were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours,” he jabbed.
It’s a pitch aimed at constituencies that Democrats have struggled to connect with in recent years, namely rural, white voters who have increasingly abandoned the party.
"I think more important than any single issue is the ability to unite the country," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey from the convention floor after the speech. "That's what we need right now. We need someone to bring everybody together and I think he showed the ability to do that, around joy and happiness and a positive message and vision. Which is different from the other side without a doubt."
"He was absolutely terrific tonight, what a great introduction to America," Minnesota U.S. Rep. Angie Craig told WCCO's Susie Jones.
Walz was introduced by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who asked, “Who better to find common ground than a guy with Midwestern common sense?”
“Some folks just don’t understand what it takes to be a good neighbor,” Walz said. “Take Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, bashed the convention as a “charade” earlier Wednesday and noted that he has been a frequent topic of conversation. He also singled out his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for a highly critical convention speech Tuesday night, saying Obama had been “nasty.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.