In the days after he was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, a photo of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) circulated widely on social media. It depicted a sitting, smiling Walz being swarmed by kids smothering him with hugs. There wasn’t any mystery about why the photo was being picked up by Harris and Walz supporters; it is certainly endearing.
But the political utility of the photo extends beyond that, as Walz certainly understands. It was taken at an event in which he signed into law legislation making school meals free for all Minnesota public school students — legislation that has become an important component of the Democratic ticket’s rhetoric.
Speaking at the party’s convention in Chicago on Wednesday, Walz contrasted his approach to schools with that of some on the right.
“We made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day,” he said. “So while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours.”
These are both points with which most Americans agree.
Last August, YouGov conducted a national poll asking Americans their opinions on school-related issues. It’s a useful benchmark specifically because the context wasn’t national politics, just how people looked at school spending and resources.
Asked about free lunch in public schools, 6 in 10 Americans indicated that every student should be eligible. Three in 10 said that it should be available only to low-income students, though as reporters in Minnesota noted at the time of the free-lunch policy going into effect, this can often lead to social stigma.
Women were more likely to support universal free lunches than men, and lower-income Americans were more likely to support it than wealthier ones. But even at the highest income level and among Republicans, about half of respondents said that school lunches should be free for all students.
The YouGov poll also asked about the provision of free breakfast to students. The numbers were similar, with slightly lower support overall. Still, most Americans (including most Democrats and independents) thought that breakfast should be free for all students as well.
At the convention, Walz contrasted this with efforts to have certain books removed from public schools. In the past several years, calls for the removal of books from school and public libraries have increased sharply, largely a function of right-wing efforts focused on gender identity and race. (The American Library Association tracks the books that are targeted most often.)
The YouGov poll asked Americans a number of questions centered on their concerns about school administration. Two dealt with books, evaluating how concerned people were about books being banned and how concerned they were about inappropriate books being available to students.
A majority of respondents expressed at least some concern over books being banned. A minority of respondents were concerned about inappropriate books being available. Forty-four percent of Americans said they were “very” concerned about book bans, compared with 26 percent who said the same about the availability of inappropriate books.
Only among Republicans was concern about inappropriate books higher than concern about bans — and even there the difference was subtle. Six in 10 Republicans expressed some concern about inappropriate books, while just over half expressed concerns about books being banned.
These issues are not the entirety of Walz’s political presence on the ticket, and Walz’s politics are not what most Americans will be voting on. But the contrast Walz draws between the parties, through the lens of his tenure as governor, has obvious political benefits. People like giving kids food and dislike taking away books, on principle. So in the most important speech he’s given to date as a vice-presidential candidate, Walz drew the comparison.
