Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was already on an extended honeymoon with voters and much of the national media before she tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. But now, the enthusiasm and curiosity over the nationally unknown Walz seems to be extending the honeymoon.

“I had journalists, national journalists call to say, ‘Is this a real guy? Is this an act? Is this folksy thing kind of a real deal?’” says former DFL state Sen. Jeff Hayden.

Most of the national media coverage of Walz and Harris has been positive, although there have been two or three days of stories raising questions about his military career and response to the George Floyd riots.

One of the reasons Harris likely picked Walz is because he might appeal to voters in middle America. However, Republican strategist Brian McDaniel says Walz has governed more like an urban liberal.

“Think of it as a Mrs. Doubtfire situation,” says McDaniel, referencing an old movie. “Tim’s in there, I mean rural Tim is in there somewhere but he’s going to show you whatever you need to see in order to garner favor and that doesn’t make him different than most politicians. Give him credit for doing it better than a lot.”

Hayden acknowledges Walz has governed more from the left than as a moderate but doesn’t think it will hurt him. “He did do a lot of progressive things that maybe people in rural Kansas and Nebraska may or may not like, but he didn’t hurt rural Minnesota. He did a lot of things for the whole state.”

The Real Clear Politics polling averages show Harris with a slight lead in the national popular vote and Trump with a slight lead in battleground states. Both Hayden and McDaniel expect this to remain a very tight race after the Harris honeymoon ends sometime in September.

You can see a full recap of this historic week in Minnesota politics on “At Issue with Tom Hauser” at 10 a.m. Sunday on Channel 5.