(NewsNation) — Family members of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have been making headlines of their own recently.
At the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, they were front and center as Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president.
Gus Walz, the candidate’s son, received much attention online after videos of him supporting his father went viral. After his father spoke, Gus Walz stood, tears streaming down his face, and pointed to his father.
“That’s my dad!” the 17-year-old could be seen saying. Many on social media expressed how touched they were to see the teen’s excitement.
Here’s a closer look at Gus, Hope and Gwen Walz — or, as Tim Walz calls them, “My entire world.”
Gwen Walz
Gwen Walz, according to the governor’s website, was born and raised in Minnesota by her parents, Val and Linn. After receiving degrees from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter and Minnesota State University in Mankato, Gwen Walz became a teacher in western Nebraska. That’s how she and Tim Walz, also a former teacher, met. The now-couple then soon started hosting summer trips where students could travel to China.
As first lady of Minnesota, Gwen Walz has been described as a “passionate advocate” for giving educational opportunities to incarcerated persons. She’s been a supporter of the Bard Prison Initiative in New York and has worked to bring similar ideas to her state as well.
“Gwen understands that corrections must be an inclusive component of our education system, and by expanding opportunity, our state can dramatically reduce recidivism rates and most importantly, transform lives,” the website states.
Gus and Hope Walz
The Star Tribune writes that Gus Walz is going to be a senior in high school this school year. Hope Walz, 23, is a social worker in Montana, the newspaper reports. She graduated in 2023 from Montana State University. In a video from last September, Hope Walz said she is a vegetarian in response to her dad suggesting the two get a corndog at the Minnesota State Fair.
“Turkey, then,” Tim Walz said.
When Hope Walz reminded him that “turkey’s meat,” Tim Walz jokingly said, “Not in Minnesota. Turkey’s special.”
In another viral moment, the brother and sister were seen at the DNC doing bunny ears behind Tim Walz as he did a national TV interview before bursting into laughter.
“My kids keep me humble,” Tim Walz said on X.
Last year, Tim Walz talked to the Star-Tribune about how he and Gwen went through seven years of fertility treatments before she was able to get pregnant.
“It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope,” Walz said.
The Walz family has also been open about Gus Walz’s diagnoses of ADHD, a nonverbal learning disorder, and an anxiety disorder. Calling him “brilliant” in a statement to People magazine, Gwen and Tim Walz said he preferred video games and spending time by himself growing up.
When he was running for governor, Tim Walz promised Gus Walz that the family could get a dog — and he didn’t renege on that vow. A Vogue cover story on the pup named Scout detailed how Gus Walz had delivered a PowerPoint presentation on why the family should get a cat several years earlier.
Along with Scout, the Walz family also has an orange and white cat named Honey, who the Star-Tribune says they adopted after their other cat, Afton, went missing last year. Scout and Honey are both rescue pets, the Star-Tribune wrote.
Jeff Walz
Jeff Walz is the older brother of Tim; and came into focus at the end of August after Jeff’s Facebook posts expressing disapproval of Gov. Walz’s policies.
The elder Walz went as far as to say the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee is “not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.”
Jeff spoke exclusively to NewsNation on Sep. 3, clarifying his comments while reiterating his opposition to Walz’s ideologies.
“It wasn’t my intent, it wasn’t our intent as a family, to put something out there to influence the general public,” Jeff Walz told NewsNation.
Despite saying to his Facebook friends that he had “thought long and hard” about publicly endorsing former President Donald Trump, he now wishes to be uninvolved in any political campaign.
The Walz brothers have not spoken since since their younger brother, Craig’s, funeral in 2016 — aside from his wife texting Gov. Walz “happy birthday” and a brief phone call in August through their mother.
“He called on her cellphone, and she gave me the cellphone. I talked to him briefly,” Jeff Walz explained.
“Harris’ team was vetting him for the vice president. He had asked me for some personal information; tax information and stuff like that, and I declined to give it at that point, but that was like a two-minute conversation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.