Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic Party‘s 2024 vice presidential nomination Wednesday in his debut on the national stage, painting himself as a Midwestern everyman who could appeal to a broad cross section of voters in November.
Walz delivered the keynote address on a night with a speaker lineup featuring former President Bill Clinton and a new generation of rising Democratic Party stars.
Walz’s speech set the stage for the final night of the convention Thursday, when Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the party’s nomination for president.
Here are winners and losers from the third night of the Democratic convention in Chicago.
Winners
Tim Walz
Walz gave one of the more effective vice presidential acceptance speeches in recent convention history. Walz served in Congress for 12 years before getting elected governor in 2019. But this was the biggest speech of his political career by far and Walz rose to the moment.
Walz spent the first portion of his address introducing himself to convention goers and viewers at home unfamiliar with his biography. Walz was a public school teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minnesota, and served for more than two decades in the National Guard. Walz did not spend much time Wednesday on his years spent serving in the House, instead touted his record as governor cutting taxes and the cost of prescription drugs.
With his own story out of the way, Walz made a forceful case for Harris. And in keeping with his joyful political brand, Walz largely avoided attacking former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance in personal terms. Instead Walz drew a contrast between Republicans and Democrats, arguing that the parties have very different concepts of individual freedom.
“When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people you love,” Walz said.
The speech underscored the attributes that led Harris to add Walz to the ticket. Minnesota is not a key battleground state, but Walz showed his football coach-turned-politician persona may play well with independents and moderate Republicans across the Midwest and beyond.
Wes Moore
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made history in 2022 when he was elected as the first Black governor of his state and just the third Black elected governor in the nation. Moore was endorsed by President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and other top Democrats. But despite his historic win Moore is not well known to most Americans.
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That changed Wednesday. Moore’s convention speech instantly turned him into a Democratic Party star and put him in the conversation as a future presidential candidate. Moore, an author and businessman before entering politics, is one of the party’s most gifted communicators. He managed to weave his own compelling life story into his speech Wednesday while still keeping the focus on Harris.
At just 45 years old, Moore has a bright future in Democratic politics. He’ll need to win reelection in 2026 to stay in the spotlight. If Harris wins in November, Moore will also likely garner attention as a potential cabinet selection. Either way, Moore established himself Wednesday as someone to watch.
Josh Shapiro
Moore isn’t the only Democratic governor who made waves Wednesday. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro—who was on Harris’ VP shortlist—also won widespread praise for his convention address, which came shortly before Walz delivered his acceptance speech.
The timing was somewhat awkward. Shapiro’s primetime speaking slot on the same night as Walz gave Democrats a side-by-side comparison of what Harris’s ticket might have looked like had she gone in a different direction. And while Walz was the center of attention Wednesday, Shapiro may have left some Democrats wondering if Harris made the right choice.
Getting passed over for the vice presidential pick can be a blessing or a curse. It remains to be seen how it’ll impact Shapiro’s career. But as the governor of a key battleground state, Shapiro at the very least can expect to remain at the center of Democratic politics through the remainder of his first term in office if not longer.
Losers
Project 2025 comedy routine
Longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson was tapped to deliver a comedy routine Wednesday on Project 2025. The act fell flat. As a prop Thompson appeared on stage with an oversized book containing the conservative Heritage Foundation’s 900-page playbook for a second Trump term.
“You ever seen a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?” Thompson said.
Thompson’s jokes gave the night a moment of levity. But it also undercut a core message of the convention and Harris’ campaign: that voters should take Project 2025 seriously as a blueprint for how Trump might govern if he returns to power. Thompson seemed to realize this near the end of his appearance. “Everything that we just talked about is very real,” he said.
Cory Booker
The New Jersey senator’s early speaking slot Wednesday highlighted how much his star has dimmed since he launched his White House run in 2019. Booker appeared on stage to introduce a musical act, then returned to give a speech that echoed the hopeful themes of his brief presidential campaign.
Booker had a few good moments. He led the convention audience in a call and response of “I believe in America.” And he received a standing ovation from his home state delegation. But Booker was long gone by the primetime portion of the program featuring Clinton, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and rising party stars like Moore and Shapiro.
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