How Tim Walz’s family influenced his politics

Tim Walz has drawn on his experiences as a dad as he’s led Minnesota.
Now, he’s leaning on loved ones as he works to win the White House with Kamala Harris.
Here’s an overview of Walz’s family life, including how becoming a dad shaped his stance on IVF.
Walz grew up in a small town in Nebraska. He credits his parents with teaching him to serve others and seek the common good, according to his bio on the state of Minnesota’s official website.
After high school graduation, Walz joined the Army National Guard and attended Chadron State College. He then taught in China before returning to Nebraska to continue his teaching career.
In his early days working as a high school teacher in Nebraska, Walz began dating one of his colleagues, Gwen Whipple. Tim and Gwen got married and moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where they both taught at Mankato West High School, per the government bio.
Tim and Gwen Walz had been married for nearly seven years before they welcomed their first child in January 2001, a daughter named Hope.
They then had a son, Gus, in October 2006, according to People.
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, Walz said his wife and kids are his “entire world.”
“Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you,” he said.
During the Democratic National Convention, Gus Walz went viral for his emotional reaction to seeing his dad on stage.
He was shown yelling “That’s my dad!” as Walz formally accepted his role as Harris’ running mate.
Gus Walz’s reaction to Tim Walz’s big moment inspired a mix of praise and mockery. Some said they’d be lucky to have kids who so openly cared for them, while others made fun of Gus’ tears.
In an interview after the viral moment, Tim Walz said that one of his goals as a politicians is to take the meanness out of politics and model a better way forward with the help of his family.
“I think the one thing is talking about the era we’re in is our politics can be better, it can be different,” Walz told CNN. “We can, we can show some of these things and we can have families involved in this and I, I hope that there was, I hope people felt that out there and I hope they hug their kids a little tighter.”
Since joining the Harris campaign, Tim and Gwen Walz have talked about Gus having a non-verbal learning disorder, as well as ADHD and anxiety.
They recently told People that Gus’ conditions are his “super power,” not a set back.
“We love our Gus,” they said. “We are proud of the man he’s growing into, and we are so excited to have him with us on this journey.”
Tim Walz’s family life influences some of his policy positions.
For example, he’s a strong supporter of protecting access to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, because he and Gwen used fertility treatments to have Hope and Gus.
“If you’ve never experienced the hell that is infertility, I guarantee you, you know somebody who has, and I can remember praying each night for a phone call, the pit in your stomach when the phone had ring, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked. It took Gwen and I years, but we had access to fertility treatments and when our daughter was born, we named her Hope,” Walz said during the Democratic National Convention.
Similarly, Walz has cited his mom’s experience relying on Social Security after his father’s death to explain his support for the social safety net.
“After he died, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. She became our rock. And now, she had to go out and get work because the medical bills broke her,” Walz said in August, per People. “And Social Security, and Social Security survivor benefits — we’re fine pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We had no boots. That’s the boots.”