Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s camouflage hat, worn shortly after accepting the nomination, raised nearly $1 million for Harris’ campaign.
The Washington Post reported that after Walz was photographed wearing one on Tuesday, the camouflage hats with “Harris/Walz” embroidered in orange went on sale at the Harris campaign’s official store, where an initial stock of 3,000 sold out in 30 minutes, raising about $1 million for the campaign.
Walz, who has long publicly bragged about his hunting skills, has made numerous public appearances over the years wearing a camouflage hat that fits perfectly at campaign kiosks and is emblematic of the Harris campaign’s strategy to highlight Walz’s Midwestern identity to solidify his support in key battleground states and appeal to rural voters.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Glenn Stubb/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
But the hats have also drawn criticism from critics, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), with the executive director of the NRA’s Legislative Action Institute telling The Washington Post: “Camo hats do nothing to disguise the fact that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are gun-taking extremists who support confiscation of firearms from law-abiding hunters and gun owners.”
Despite his hunting background, Walz has long been a proponent of stronger gun control, signing universal background checks and red flag laws into law as governor. Vice President Harris has also long been a proponent of stronger gun control, calling for “enacting reasonable gun safety laws” in her Rose Garden speech last year.
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Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, attend a campaign rally in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
“President Biden and I believe in the Second Amendment, but we also know that common sense solutions are on the horizon,” Harris said at the time.
Still, Emily L. Newman, a professor of art history and liberal arts at Texas A&M University-Commerce, told The Washington Post that the viral hat fits well with the character of Walz that the campaign is trying to highlight and lends further credibility to his calls for gun control.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (AP Photo/Abby Parr/File)
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“I thought it would be a great campaign opportunity to tap into the Midwestern sensibility that Walz brings to the campaign,” Newman said. “He’s said he’s a hunter, but he’s also a big supporter of gun control, so this is a great opportunity for Democrats to highlight that.”
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