Tim Walz: Kamala Harris’ vice president has German ancestors

The newly elected US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has German ancestors. His great-great-grandfather comes from the Baden town of Kuppenheim, as the “Badische Neuesten Nachrichten” from Karlsruhe reported. The ancestor of Kamala Harris’s vice president was called Sebastian Walz and was the son of a shoemaker. He was born on May 11, 1843 in Kuppenheim, which at the time belonged to the Grand Duchy of Baden.

In 1867 he emigrated to the USA, where he died in Lawrence, Nebraska, at the age of 71, according to the newspaper. His son John Friedrich Walz married in 1898 and had Raymond A. Walz. He was the father of farmer James Frederick Walz. The current vice presidential candidate was born as his son on April 6, 1964 in West Point, Nebraska.

Tim Walz’s relatives still live in the area today

“Tim Walz’s direct male line of ancestors can be traced back a long way in Kuppenheim,” the mayor of the Baden town, Karsten Mußler (Free Voters), told the newspaper. The US politician probably still has relatives in the town on the edge of the northern Black Forest: other ancestors of Walz came from several local families, the mayor told the newspaper. “Tim Walz is therefore likely to have common ancestors with many of today’s Kuppenheim residents.”

Walz would not be the first man with German roots in the White House: the ancestors of the Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump come from Kallstadt in the Palatinate.

The Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently chose the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, as her running mate. The 60-year-old is considered a politician who, with his simple language, can reach voters without a university education, but at the same time represents liberal positions. The former National Guardsman, teacher and football coach campaigned for access to abortion and free school meals for children. He also supports stricter screening of gun buyers.