For a moment earlier this year, Tim Walz was one of the best-kept secrets among vice-presidential candidates. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, kept her running mate private for a few days after she announced her presidential bid, but unveiled the secret at a rally in Pennsylvania in early August. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, has appealed to Generation Z nearly as much as Harris has.

Walz, labeled the “cool dad,†has been paired with many memes and TikTok posts, including ones of him speaking about the new Charli XCX album, Brat. The biggest thing, most recently, to push him over the edge in his appeal to Generation Z has been video footage of him calling JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, “weird,†for his stances on education and reproductive rights.

“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room,†Walz said in a TV interview.



Emily J. Aguirre is a junior at ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Prep. Contact her at emjazz19@gmail.com.