Tim Walz fails to inspire swing state voters after Kamala Harris makes him VP pick: ‘He makes Tim Kaine look exciting’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been thrust into the national spotlight after being named Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

But, he’s still got very little national name recognition, despite holding public office for nearly two decades.

The Post spoke to voters in several key swing states to get a pulse of what they think about the liberal former high school teacher and National Guardsman turned governor.

“I know he is the governor of Minnesota, but not much else,” said Kunal Lobo, a recent physics Ph.D graduate in Tucson, Ariz. “I briefly looked him up on Wikipedia but there wasn’t much. He seems pretty generic.”

But, Susan Groff, 69, a retired teacher in Phoenix, told The Post that Walz’s Midwest roots appeal to her.

“Walz is more of a small-town guy than a big-city guy, and that might be a factor in selecting him. He would connect better with people in the fly-over states,” she said, drawing a comparison to the Vice President who cut her political teeth in the far-left San Francisco machine.

But others in Arizona — a key swing state that President Biden won by just 0.3% in 2020 — who were more familiar with Walz weren’t as enamored with his aw-shucks backstory.

“He let Black Lives Matter riots destroy Minneapolis,” said Christian, 23, a nursing student in Phoenix recalling the violent street protests that broke out following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, Walz’s second year in office as Minnesota governor.

“I remember seeing Target being looted and there was hardly any police action.”

In Ohio — the home of Trump VP pick Sen. JD Vance — voters around the state who had actually heard of Walz had some colorful commentary.

“I knew who Walz was, but he will help Trump win. Walz makes Tim Kaine look exciting,” said Reggie, 32, a policy worker in Columbus, referring to Hillary Clinton’s less-than-thrilling 2016 veep choice.

“This pick is a concession to Twitter lefties,” he added.

Gary, 29, a Trump supporter who works in Cleveland, said his one brush with Walz was a chance encounter at Minnesota’s Mall of America years ago.

“Hell no he ain’t helping Kamala win. She is cooked. Trump is back, my guy, and I can’t wait because my gas will be $1.80 again and we will all have more money in our pockets.”

North of the Buckeye State, Michigan voters were a bit more split in their opinions, but even the Trump-haters had never heard of Walz.

“I don’t know who the f–k Tim Walz is, but anything is better than Trump, so go off, Tim!” said Alicia, a 28-year-old veterinary student and Harris supporter in Lansing.

Sabrina, a single mom working at the checkout counter in a grocery store outside Ann Arbor, drew a complete blank when asked if she’s ever heard of the VP pick.

“No, who is that? Oh, no, I don’t think I have ever heard of him,” she said upon being reminded he’s the Minnesota governor.

A woman strolling the shops on Ann Arbor Street in affluent Dexter, Michigan, said the only thing she knew about him was that she was the governor of Minnesota and that he’s “going to be the new vice president.”

The Post’s tour of the Rust Belt states continued in Wisconsin, where residents of America’s Dairyland didn’t think much of the governor next door.

“I’m not familiar with his track record,” said David Kapanke, 65. “He’s been less noteworthy to me than most blue state governors and Midwestern red-state governors.”

Jim Braughler, 50, uncorked on Walz as Harris’ choice of running mate, saying he was “baffled” by her decision.

“He brings nothing but disastrous George Floyd riots, a state of only 10 electoral votes which has consistently voted for a Democratic candidate since Nixon, and more of the far-left views outside of the typical American beliefs,” he said, venting his frustration.

“She could have chosen wide, but not much worse.”

At a Vance rally in Philadelphia Wednesday, not a lot of people were well-versed about the freshly minted 2024 VP candidate

“We thought maybe she would go with Josh Shapiro, and we were looking to see the news. So we don’t have any background on that, but we’ll do our homework to see what’s going on.”

On the topic of Walz being the person who started the trend of labeling Trump supporters as “weird,” starting with Vance, Brian Shine, 46, who works at a golf club in Phoenixville, Penn., thinks the attack line falls flat.

“I don’t know what’s weird about a man like JD, who married a great woman and had three wonderful kids. He served his country in the Marine Corps. There’s nothing weird about that. Walz’ idea of normal is men having babies, importing 12 million illegals and letting cities burn to the ground. That’s not normal,” he said.

Clear across the country from in rural Mesquite, Nevada, a markedly more conservative part of the Silver State than Las Vegas and its suburbs, Patricia Holding said she feels the “weird” label is unnecessarily divisive.

“I don’t know if weird is the way I would describe Republicans,” she said. “I mean, both sides have good points and bad points. That’s why I’m undecided at this point. We gotta unite the country somehow.”