‘Don’t even know who he is’: Wisconsinites talk Harris’ midwestern running mate, Tim Walz

WISCONSIN — Voters who spoke with Fox News Digital in the battleground state of Wisconsin were not particularly fond of Vice President Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., despite his proximity or Midwestern characteristics. 

“Who’s Tim Walz?” asked Waukesha County, Wisconsin resident Diana Altwies, who said she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump after supporting him in 2016 and 2020. 

Fox News Digital interviewed voters in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Waukesha counties, asking whether Walz’s status as a Midwesterner, hailing from neighboring state Minnesota, was relatable to them. 

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“I mean, if you like people that are completely stupid, he’s great,” said Brian Morawski of Milwaukee County.

“I mean, he’s relatable as somebody that I really dislike,” he said of Walz. 

According to Altwies, she had heard his last name before, but didn’t actually know who Harris’ running mate was. 

“I’ve never seen him on TV or anything,” she said.

Harris and Walz have notably done far fewer interviews than Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.

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Kathy Przekwas of Kenosha County said she didn’t like Harris’ running mate “at all.” 

“I see right through him,” she said. 

She explained that Walz comes off as “fast-talking” and “throws in, like, a bunch of things that aren’t true but talks real fast.” 

“I don’t like any of the things he did in Minnesota, you know, because I’m up on all of that and how he handled the pandemic.”

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Walz instituted a Hotline for reporting people who weren’t abiding by the social distancing guidelines he put in place. “We’re seeing crowds that are a little too big, especially around the lakes,” he reportedly said in early 2020. 

“It is being used, and we simply want to let people be able to call and let folks know,” he said. “It’s for their own good. If we see people that may not be as informed on this, it’s an educational piece,” Walz reportedly said in defense of the Hotline during the same time period.

Walz’s stay-at-home executive order carried potential penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or 90 days of jail time, according to the Minnesota Reformer. 

Przekwas explained that Midwesterners are “natural and down to earth,” but she doesn’t think this description fits Walz. 

“I think he tries to portray that, but I don’t think he really is.”

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While Fox News Digital only found voters who did not like Walz, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler claimed, “So many people have said to me, ‘He’s like my dad.'”

“Tim Walz has this extraordinary quality, for Wisconsin voters specifically,” he said. 

“He’s such a familiar type of person.”

According to the chairman, what Wisconsinites look for are good neighbors. “That stuff matters a lot,” he explained. 

“And you can sort of see in Tim Walz in the way he carries himself, the stories that he tells, that he is that kind of good neighbor that everyone aspires to be and wants to live next to.”

Asked about Walz, Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Iverson said, “Actually, I hear a lot of people who are really excited about JD Vance in Wisconsin.”

Sen. Vance, Trump’s running mate, is also from the Midwest, having grown up in Ohio. 

“A lot of folks are excited about him because he has such a great story to tell,” he said of the “Hillbilly Elegy” author. 

As for Walz, Iverson claimed voters are aware of “his failed record.”

“They know a lot of Minnesotans actually crossed the border and moved to Wisconsin because of his failed policies as governor,” he added. 

According to him, “people are more excited about JD Vance than Tim Walz” in Wisconsin. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.