Who is Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ pick for vice president?

Democrats have enshrined abortion rights, enacted paid family and sick leave, strengthened gun laws, funded universal free school meals and invested in affordable housing.

The frenetic activity caught the eye of former President Barack Obama who wrote: “If you need a reminder that elections have consequences, check out what’s happening in Minnesota.”

Largely unknown on the national scene, Mr Walz has quickly gathered buzz in recent weeks for his acerbic descriptions of Republicans.

“These are weird people on the other side,” he recently told MSNBC, a label that has been widely repeated. “They want to ban books. They want to be in your [doctor’s] exam room.”

But Republicans have been quick to characterise what he has done in Minnesota as too radical for ordinary Americans.

Tom Emmer, the third-highest ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives, accused Mr Walz of trying “to turn Minnesota into Kamala Harris’ home state of California”.

But allies, including labour leaders, believe Mr Walz can broaden Ms Harris’s appeal to rural and working class voters.

Angie Craig, a House Democrat locked in a competitive race for re-election, praised Mr Walz as “a battle-tested leader”.

As “a proven winner who has never lost an election across many tough races”, she told the BBC she believed he would be the best possible addition to the Harris ticket.