(Headline USA) Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz carried a shotgun and tramped through tall grass as Minnesota’s pheasant hunting season opened.
Neither Walz nor Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan managed to bag any pheasants as they hunted near Sleepy Eye, a town about 90 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
The campaign of Harris disclosed during her debate with President Donald Trump last month that she’s a gun owner.
On Friday, the Democratic ticket announced the launch of Hunters and Anglers for Harris-Walz, a national organizing program to engage sportspeople, conservationists and rural voters in key states.
The Trump campaign mocked the outing, accusing Walz of “desperately attempting to make up ground with male voters.”
The campaign’s statement also pointed out that there were no guns in sight during the hunt, calling it “a sign of the future under a Harris-Walz administration.”
While Walz had a top rating from the National Rifle Association during his 12 years in Congress, he changed his positions on gun rights after a series of school shootings. As governor, he signed legislation in 2023 expanding background checks for gun transfers and a red flag law allowing courts to temporarily take firearms away from people judged to be in imminent risk of harming themselves or others. His wife, Gwen, has been a champion of gun safety legislation.
“Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber,” the Trump campaign tweeted from an official account.
Walz went hunting the morning after attending a football game in Mankato, where he was once an assistant coach.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
