Governor Tim Walz’s selection as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate is the first time a Minnesotan has been tapped for the role in over 40 years.

Reactions to pick have flooded in from both sides of the aisle, after weeks of speculation as to who would join Harris after President Biden ended his re-election bid.

But, while Gov. Walz may be familiar to Minnesotans, he still needs to introduce himself to the national audience.

“He has been a congressman obviously, but he hasn’t necessarily had a lot of national exposure. Most people probably have very little idea who he is. He has the opportunity to roll himself out and introduce himself to a larger nationwide audience that probably isn’t very familiar with him.” Says Dr. Kathryn Haglin, a political science professor at UMD.

Walz’s got his first chance to introduce himself as VP Harris’ running mate at a rally on Tuesday evening, August 6. In the speech, Walz spoke of his background as a teacher, his 20-plus years in the national guard, and his record in Minnesota. Haglin says that democrats will likely lean on Walz’s time as governor, as a way to reassure voters not sold on Harris.

“I think they’re going to try and emphasize that he’s really worked across the aisle. He did that a lot in Congress. He collaborated with, obviously with Democrats, which is his party, but he also worked with Republicans. So being able to be a little bit of a more moderating force in the election, especially for people who are maybe concerned that Harris is maybe a little too liberal for them”

While the Democrats may portray Walz as a moderating ticket-balancer, Republicans have wasted no time in branding him as a far-left candidate. In a statement on Harris’ pick, the Trump campaign called Walz “a dangerously liberal extremist.”

Haglin says this label is something that she believes the GOP would use regardless of who Harris picked a running mate.

In both campaign stops, Walz and Vance both enthusiastically said they’re willing to debate each other. Currently, a vice-presidential debate has not been scheduled.