Walz, Pelosi, Bill Clinton headline Day 3 of Democratic convention

WASHINGTON – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is set to accept the Democratic nomination for vice-president on Aug 21, with 11 weeks to go before he and Vice-President Kamala Harris face former President Donald Trump in the 2024 US election.

Mr Walz, 60, a military veteran, former high school teacher and football coach, is expected to talk about growing up on a farm in Nebraska, his family and freedoms that Democrats say are under attack from Trump, who is making his third run for the White House as a Republican.

Mr Walz has brought a folksy charm to the campaign trail, describing himself and Ms Harris as “joyful warriors” focused on a brighter future, in contrast to Republicans who they say are stoking fear and division.

He will take the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago after former president Bill Clinton, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was instrumental in forcing President Joe Biden

to step aside a month ago.

Mr Biden was trailing Trump nationally and in battleground states before he ceded the party’s top spot to Ms Harris. Polls now show her

leading Trump in a handful of states

that will decide the Nov 5 election.

Mr Walz and Ms Harris

received a ringing endorsement on Aug 20

from former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama at the Chicago convention.

“I love this guy,” Mr Obama said of Mr Walz. “He knows who he is and what’s important. You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don’t come from some consultant. They come from his closet, and they’ve been through some stuff.”

Mr Walz’s rapid rise to national fame has drawn Republican scrutiny and prompted the Harris campaign to issue statements about his 24-year military history and the method of fertility treatment he and his wife underwent to have children.

Harris campaign officials are betting Mr Walz’s Midwestern roots and plain-spoken style

will appeal to some of the white men in rural areas

who voted for Trump by huge margins in the last two elections – and help deliver battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump will be campaigning with his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, in another swing state, North Carolina, on Aug 21, where he will speak about national security.

Republicans have sharply criticised the Democrats’ economic plans.

As governor, Mr Walz made school meals free, set goals to cut greenhouse gases, expanded paid leave and protected collective bargaining and overtime, progressive policies that Republicans describe as dangerously liberal. REUTERS