Walz tries to burnish his everyman image with trip home to Minnesota

Mankato, Minnesota (CNN) — As a high school marching band played a rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz walked down the 50-yard line at Friday’s crosstown rivalry football game between Mankato East High School and Mankato West High School. Walz, accompanying the latter team’s captains, received an introduction that would work equally well at a campaign rally.

“Joining them for the coin toss,” said the announcer at Minnesota State University-Mankato’s Blakeslee Stadium, “former Mankato West defensive coordinator, decadelong geography teacher, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.”

The crowd reacted with mild applause, mostly from Mankato West supporters. After the coin toss, Walz took a seat on the bleachers, where he took selfies and signed autographs alongside his mother, Darlene Walz. The governor cheered throughout the game as Mankato West took an early lead, and although he departed at halftime, Mankato West held on to win 28-7.

Walz’s visit to the football game, and his stop earlier in the day at the school where he once taught and coached, marked his first return to the town he called home for 10 years since joining the Democratic presidential ticket in August. Walz moved to Mankato in 1996 to teach social studies and coach football at Mankato West, along with his wife, Gwen, who taught English. Walz left teaching in 2006 after he was elected to Congress.

Since Walz was named the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the Harris campaign has sought to highlight his tenure at Mankato West as the defining aspect of his background, more so even than his over 20 years in the National Guard or his six terms in Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris often refers to Walz as “Coach Walz,” a moniker now seen on campaign signs at Walz’s rallies.

Adding to his Midwestern fall weekend itinerary, Walz on Saturday marked the opening of pheasant hunting season by going on a hunt, which he called the “best two hours” he’d spent “in two weeks,” according to a pool report. Reporters followed his hunting party, which included several other hunters and a few hunting dogs, from a safe distance as he trekked through Minnesota grasslands for several miles. Walz ultimately did not have a chance to fire his Beretta A400 shotgun, but he spoke after the hunt about why he purchased it.

“I bought it when I was shooting a lot of trap because it has kind of a … thing to kick off so when you get old it doesn’t hurt your shoulders as much,” Walz said.

Walz’s return to Minnesota is part of the campaign’s bid to win over male voters in Midwestern battleground states. A campaign official told CNN that Walz’s recent interviews with local outlets in Midwestern battleground states and a sit-down interview with former NFL star Michael Strahan on ABC’s “Good Morning America” were also part of the push to engage persuadable male voters. A Pew Research Center national survey released Thursday found 51% of registered male voters support former President Donald Trump, while 43% support Harris.

In an interview that aired Friday with WPVI News in Philadelphia, Walz said the Harris campaign is working to close the gap in support among male voters with messaging on economic and social issues targeted toward men.

“These are folks that want to make sure they’re able to get a good job, be able to buy a home, get a good education. Those are not that different. And I think it’s more of taking it to them, making the message tailored,” Walz said.

But for Walz, the return home was also a brief respite from a campaign that has been particularly challenging lately. The governor has faced an uptick in scrutiny for making false statements before and after joining the Harris campaign, including repeating the false claim he was in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests as part of an up-and-down performance during the vice presidential debate earlier this month.

Walz’s return to Mankato was received well by some locals. In a video released by the campaign on Friday, Walz’s former students and players reminisced about the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s time as a teacher and coach. Sarah Manes, a former student, described Walz as a high-energy teacher who sought to form meaningful connections with students, joking, “I don’t think he ever sat behind his desk.”

Richelle Norton, who took classes with both Gov. Walz and Gwen Walz, said Gwen Walz was a stricter teacher. “She said, ‘Well, I’m not like my husband. I’m not like the Easter Bunny, just giving out A’s,’” Norton said in the video.

Before the game, Tim Walz stopped by Mankato West to greet players as they left for the stadium and speak to old colleagues. As he walked into the school, Walz was warmly greeted by Sherri Blasing, the school’s principal and a former neighbor of the Walzes in Mankato.

“Welcome home, Coach! Welcome home!” Blasing said.

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