Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz became a national figure this week after Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her 2024 running mate to challenge former President Donald Trump and Ohio. Sen. JD Vance.
His past became an immediate topic of interest – and a booking photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows the new vice presidential candidate pictured shortly after a 1995 arrest in Nebraska after state troopers pulled him over for speeding and suspicion of drunken driving.
The Dawes County Sheriff’s Office said Walz had been arrested on Sept. 23, 1995, after state police pulled him over on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
KAMALA HARRIS’ VP PICK TIM WALZ PREVIOUSLY CHARGED WITH DUI IN NEBRASKA
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential candidate, pictured in a 1995 booking photo following a DUI arrest in Dawes County, Nebraska. (Dawes County Sheriffs Office)
Court documents allege that Walz, 28 at the time, who was a high school teacher and football coach at the time, was speeding above 80 mph. He failed a breath test with a .128 blood-alcohol level. The limit back then was .1 in many parts of the country, including Nebraska. It is now .08.
And he failed a field sobriety test, but his lawyer blamed the incident on a combination of his client’s bad hearing and that the state trooper didn’t turn his siren’s on right away.
It was “a little bit bizarre,” the lawyer, Russell Harford, claimed in court. Walz believed “somebody was after him.”
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE
Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appear on stage together during a campaign event at Girard College on August 6, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harris ended weeks of speculation about who her running mate would be, selecting the 60-year-old Midwestern governor over other candidates. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
He was booked into the county jail and later released on bond. The case ended in a plea deal where Walz admitted to a reduced charge of reckless driving.
Walz, now 60, paid a $200 fine and reportedly no longer drinks alcohol.
IT’S OFFICIAL: VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS FORMALLY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION
Harris revealed Walz as her running mate Tuesday. She became the presumptive Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee after incumbent President Joe Biden backed out of the race following a disastrous debate performance, disappointing polls and concerns about whether he is capable of continuing to lead the country.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz listens as President Joe Biden speaks at Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minn., Nov. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Walz, a longtime National Guardsman and Nebraska native, was elected to the House of Representatives after a career in education. He took office as Minnesota’s governor in 2019 and won reelection in 2022.
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Walz, along with his Republican vice presidential hopeful counterpart JD Vance, are both Mountain Dew consumers, specifically Diet Mountain Dew.
“Make it a Diet Mountain Dew and I’m sold,” Walz said in a 2023 X post in response to convenience store chain KwikTrip, which wrote, “idk who needs to hear this but 52 oz of diet coke is a perfect way to start the morning.”
Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto contributed to this report.
