What to watch in Tim Walz's DNC speech
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Walz,pictured at a recent rally in Las Vegas, has been on a campaign speech circuit. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Gov. Tim Walz will take the biggest stage of his political career at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.
Why it matters: After he was tapped as Kamala Harris' vice presidential candidate just two weeks ago, 70% of voters had no impression of the Minnesota Democrat.
- The primetime keynote will be one of the few chances the two-term governor will get to introduce himself to millions of voters before Election Day.
State of play: The shift from Minnesota to the national stage represents a big step up for Walz, who told Harris' vetting team that he had never used a teleprompter.
- He gave two of his six State of the State addresses not on stages or in staid legislative chambers but at schools.
- While his role as chair of the Democratic Governors Association put him on the national fundraising circuit, those appearances were largely confined to smaller audiences of like-minded Democratic activists.
Between the lines: The governor's blunt and folksy speaking style, which he peppers with casual language, jokes and relatable life stories, has fueled his recent rise in popularity.
- A new Axios vibes survey released this morning shows Walz outperforming GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance on four measures, including having an "authentic connection to everyday Americans.
What they're saying: "He's unscripted, and for some in politics, they don't like it because it's not as polished," said Minnesota DFL Party chair Ken Martin, who has known Walz for two decades.
- "But I think that's what endears him to Americans. ... If I was advising him, I'd tell him not to change any of that," Martin added.
Friction point: Walz also tends to talk fast — the feedback at his first candidate boot camp back in 2005 was to slow down, per Politico — sometimes starting a new sentence or thought before he finishes the last.
- That's led him to get tripped up by gaffes or false statements, including about his own life story.
Zoom out: To communicate effectively with a bigger, live audience, the governor will have to slow down and learn to "judge the pacing of his speech," presidential speech expert John M. Murphy told Axios.
- "Words come out in a hurry, and he's going to need to learn to pause more, let the audience enjoy moments with him, rather than speeding through it," said Murphy, a communications professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has reviewed some of the speeches.
- Murphy said he's already seen Walz make adjustments along those lines in recent campaign speeches, which did involve teleprompters and crowds of 10,000-plus.
What to watch: In addition to sharing life stories to introduce himself and connect with voters, Walz may use his bigger platform to lean into the vice presidential nominee's traditional role on the campaign: attack dog.
- "It's kind of a good cop, bad cop thing," Murphy says.
- The vice presidential hopeful's speech is generally "aimed at rousing loyalists, the party members themselves, whereas the president tends to speak to the whole country."
The bottom line: While convention viewership has declined over the years, it's "very seldom" that a candidate gets live, primetime coverage from all networks.
- "There's the nomination acceptance and there's the debate," Murphy observed. "Those are the two moments when big audiences tune in and decide whether or not this is a good candidate."