Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz took advantage of early voting Wednesday morning to cast his ballot in St. Paul, Minnesota.

What You Need To Know

  • Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz cast his ballot in Minnesota alongside his wife, Gwen, and son, Gus, who recently turned 18 and cast his ballot for the first time.

  • The Minnesota governor said it was “super exciting” to vote, adding that he cast his ballot for Kamala Harris for president, Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate and Betty McCollum for U.S. House

  • Walz then turned his attention to attacking President Donald Trump, citing the recent reporting about his former chief of staff John Kelly's comments

  • Walz also said he had “nothing to say” about reports that he was the target of Russian disinformation efforts but added that “it’s very clear that" Russian President Vladimir "Putin wants Donald Trump to win; Donald Trump wants Putin to win"
 

Voting along with Walz, Minnesota’s governor, were his wife, Gwen, and son, Gus. 

Gus Walz turned 18 on Oct. 13 and was voting for the first time. When election workers announced him as a first-time voter, the office applauded and Tim Walz high-fived his son.

After leaving the voting office, Walz addressed reporters. He said it was “super exciting” to vote, adding that he cast his ballot for Kamala Harris for president, Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate and Betty McCollum for U.S. House. 

The vice presidential candidate said he was also excited that Gus voted.

Tim Walz then turned his attention to attacking President Donald Trump. He cited an article in The Atlantic that reported Trump said in a White House meeting that he needs “the kind of generals that Hitler had” and an article in The New York Times in which Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, said the Republican nominee matches the definition of a “fascist” and would love to be a dictator.

The Trump campaign has denied the reporting by both outlets.

“I think for many of us, the last 24 hours certainly have been a bit shaking with the reporting coming out in The Atlantic, Donald Trump's dissension into madness and John Kelly, who I thank for showing the courage to come forward, truly telling the world those closest to Donald Trump know how dangerous he is,” Walz said. 

“Look, Donald Trump made it very clear that this is an election about Donald Trump taking full control of the military to use against his political enemies, taking full control of the Department of Justice to prosecute those who disagree with him, taking full control of the media on what is told and what is told to the American public,” he added. “And the opportunity here and the absolute requirement of Americans is to understand that this rhetoric has not been used in this country, certainly not by a party's presidential nominee.”

Walz also said he had “nothing to say” about reports that he was the target of Russian disinformation efforts but added that “it’s very clear that" Russian President Vladimir "Putin wants Donald Trump to win; Donald Trump wants Putin to win.”

Minnesota started early in-person voting on Sept. 20 but the governor has been on the campaign trail most of the time since Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate. Tim and Gwen Walz also voted early at the same office in 2022, when they were joined by their daughter, Hope, who was voting for the first time then but now lives in Montana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.