Since being unveiled as Kamala Harris’s running mate in the race for the White House, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has impressed Democrats with his folksy charm—and he’s ready to share the spotlight. “I can’t wait for all of you and America to get to know my incredible wife, Gwen, a 29-year public school educator,” Walz, also a former schoolteacher, said during a campaign rally on Tuesday. Here’s what we know about America’s potential next Second Lady.
1. She’s a hands-on First Lady
When her family moved into the governor’s mansion in 2019, Walz acquired the title of First Lady. While the position is ceremonial, she treated it as anything but: according to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Walz is the first First Lady in Minnesota history to have an office in the state capitol, and she sat in on her husband’s job interviews for state-level appointees. If the Walzes move into the Naval Observatory next year, she may not sit on the sidelines.
2. She’s interested in criminal justice reform
Walz’s first public appearance as First Lady of Minnesota wasn’t some ribbon-cutting ceremony—it was a rally at the state capitol to support a bill restoring voting rights to convicted felons upon completing incarceration. She’s also a longtime supporter of the Bard Prison Initiative, a program that gives prisoners access to higher education; in 2021, Minnesota launched a similar program, Transformation and Reentry through Education and Community.
3. She met her husband at work
Before sharing a home, the Walzes shared a classroom. They taught at the same school, Alliance High School in Tim Walz’s native state of Nebraska, with their “rooms” separated only by a temporary divider, Gwen told Minnesota Public Radio in 2019. Later, they moved to Gwen Walz’s native Minnesota, where they both taught at West Mankato High School: Tim taught geography, while Gwen taught English. They also shared a sideline; he coached the football team, she coached the cheer team. If Harris and Walz win in November, Gwen would become the fourth straight Second Spouse to have served as an educator, joining Doug Emhoff, Karen Pence, and Jill Biden.
4. She conceived her first child through IVF
While the specifics of how a candidate’s child was conceived aren’t usually political, the Walzes went public in March that their first child, Hope, had been conceived through in vitro fertilization. This came in the wake of Alabama’s Supreme Court deciding that embryos created through IVF should be considered living children—a decision that forced many of the state’s healthcare providers to halt the service. Expect the issue to be raised on a debate stage this fall, especially with Tim squaring off against Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance, who has voted against codifying IVF protections.
5. She helped start a orientation program for freshmen Congressional spouses
Tim was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. After the Walzes arrived in DC in 2007, Gwen was “disturbed” by the high divorce rate in Congress and established a mentorship program to help incoming spouses adjust to DC life—whether it be the commute from their districts or the sudden adjustment to the public eye. “We have a little saying in the spouses’ world, where we say, ‘all of the work, none of the perk,’” she told Minnesota Public Radio in 2019.
