The surprising reason liberal Governor Tim Walz, and Kamala Harris VP choice, became known as the 'Top Gun' Democrat

When Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia, she shared some anecdotes about his life including one about his time in Congress. 

'He was known as one of Capitol Hill's best marksmen, winning a bipartisan sharp-shooting contest year after year,' Harris said. 

Democrats are not typically known for toting guns, but for the Minnesota governor who served in Congress for six terms, shooting gave him a way to reach across the aisle in Washington and enjoy time with GOP colleagues. 

Walz was the Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and became known as a 'Top Gun' Democrat for winning shooting competitions. 

Then-Congressman Tim Walz speaking to people at a campaign event in Duluth, MN in 2016. Walz was known that year as the 'Top Gun' Democrat for winning shooting competitions

Every year, the caucus would join up with the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation to put aside partisanship for the friendly shooting competition with rounds of trap, skeet and clays. 

Walz was the winner of the 'Top Gun' Democrat in the individual category in both 2015 and 2016.  

'I think I won one year, [and] he won one year,' former Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who won the competition the year before Walz, told the Wall Street Journal. 'He was very much a moderate.' 

That was not Walz only association with guns as a member of Congress in which he served from 2007 until he became Minnesota governor in 2019. 

Then-Rep. Tim Walz on Capitol Hill in 2016. Early in his political career, he was backed by the NRA and received an A rating

Governor Tim Walz  carrying a gun as he went pheasant hunting in October 2023

Having grown up in rural Nebraska and represented Minnesota's first congressional district in the mostly rural southern part of the state, he would talk about how he enjoyed hunting and other recreational outdoor activity. 

Early in his political career, he was endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) which gave him an A rating and contributed to his campaign.  

In 2016, Guns and Ammo Magazine included him in their top twenty politicians for gun owners, writing 'while most congressional Democrats have jumped on the gun control train with both feet, Tim Walz and a few others have stuck to their guns.'

But Walz's tune on gun reforms changed over the years with the escalating number of mass shooting. 

In October of 2017, he announced he would donate all of the campaign contributions from the NRA to charity after a shooter in Las Vegas killed 59 people at a music festival. At the time, Walz was running in the Democratic primary for governor. 

In 2018, after the Parkland high school shooting in Florida left seventeen dead including 14 students, Walz called for an assault weapons ban in Minnesota.

In his State of the State address last year, Walz mentioned being a hunter and gun owner but said as a dad and former teacher, weapons have no place in schools, churches and places people are trying to live without fear. 

'I got an A rating from the NRA my first term in Congress,' he said. 'Now I get straight F’s, and I sleep just fine.'

Earlier this year, Minnesota strengthening its firearm straw purchases law and other reporting requirements. 

Kamala Harris introducing Tim Walz as her running mate in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024

In her introduction of Walz Tuesday, Harris mentioned his 'Top Gun' status, but she also highlighted his work on gun control. 

'Tim is a hunter and a gun owner who believes, as the majority of gun owners do, that we need reasonable gun safety laws in America,' she said. 

'So as governor, he expanded background checks and increased penalties for illegal firearm sales, and together, when we win in November, we are finally going to pass universal background checks, red flag laws, and an assault weapons ban.'

In his own debut as her running mate, Walz noted being 'one of the best shots in Congress.'

'In Minnesota, we believe in the Second Amendment, but we also believe in common sense gun violence laws,' he added. 

After Walz was announced as Harris' running mate, the NRA released a statement blasting the governor it once supported.

'Tim Walz is a political chameleon – changing his positions to further his own personal agenda,' said Randy Kozuch, Chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund, in a statement. 

'In Congress, Walz purported to be a friend of gun owners to receive their support in his rural Minnesota district,' he went on .'Once he had his eyes set on other offices, he sold out law-abiding Minnesotans and promoted a radical gun control agenda that emboldened criminals and left everyday citizens defenseless.'