A Complete Guide to His Family Tree

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was born and raised in Nebraska by his parents, James F. Walz and Darlene Rose Walz, alongside his three siblings, Jeff, Craig and Sandy.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Neb. His parents also welcomed two sons, Jeff and Craig, and one daughter, Sandy, all of whom grew up in Nebraska and were all teachers at one point.

In 2016, Craig tragically died after a strong storm hit his campsite where he was spending time with his family. His sudden death marked the second tragedy for the Walz family as their father, James, died from lung cancer when Tim was 19.

On Father’s Day in June 2022, Tim reflected on his relationship with his father and grandfather, writing on X that James, like Tim before he moved into a career in politics, was a hard-working teacher.

“The values of hard work, family, and education were important to my grandfather and father,” Tim wrote. “And although I lost my father when I was still in my teens, I’m forever grateful for the values that my father and grandfather instilled in me and are practiced in the Walz family.”

While Tim is on the Democratic ticket for president alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, the governor and his younger brother, Jeff, a Republican, have differing political views. In August 2024, Jeff reportedly expressed opposition to Tim’s platform via Facebook posts.

From how he was raised to his disagreements with his siblings, here’s a complete guide to Tim Walz’s family tree.

Tim Walz’s Parents

James F. Walz

Tim’s father, James, was born in 1929 and grew up as the son of a butcher. After serving in the army during the Korean War, James went to college to be a teacher and later became a superintendent in his district in Nebraska, per Tim’s post on X.

James died in 1984 at 54 years old from lung cancer, leaving behind a 19-year-old Tim and three other children.

“I was 19, my little brother was 8 or 9 when he passed,” Walz told Harris in an August 2024 campaign video. “He was a chain smoker, just addicted.”

“After he died, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. She became our rock. And now, she had to go out and get work because the medical bills broke her,” he continued.

Darlene Rose Walz

Darlene grew up in Butte, Neb., and continues to live in the town today, per the Los Angeles Times. The outlet reported that while the majority of the town is Republican, they try not to engage in poltiical conversations with her regarding her son so as to not upset her.

Despite her children’s differing political beliefs, Darlene spoke to The Daily Beast about her relationship with both her sons, sharing that she chooses not to get into the middle of the rift between Jeff and Tim.

“I think the best thing maybe, for me, is to just stay out of it,” she said.

She added that she has a close relationship with both, recently having visited Jeff at his home in Florida, where they avoided talk of politics. A lifelong Democrat, Darlene campaigned with Tim when he ran for Congress, supported him through “every town in Minnesota” when he ran for governor and attended the Democratic National Convention in August 2024 when he accepted his nomination.

“Oh man, that was a blast,” she told the outlet. “It was wonderful.”

Tim Walz’s Siblings

Jeff Walz

Like his siblings, Jeff was raised in Nebraska. However, he now lives in Florida with his wife Laurie.

Jeff gained national attention after he put comments on his Facebook rebuking his younger brother’s policies and writing that there were “stories [he] could tell” about Tim that would make people question him. As a registered Republican, Jeff once donated to former President Donald Trump‘s campaign and wrote on his Facebook that he “thought long and hard” about endorsing him in the 2024 election.

Soon after the New York Post publicized his comments, Jeff told NewsNation on Sept. 4 that he would not be involved in any political campaign or make political statements for either party going forward.

“It wasn’t my intent, it wasn’t our intent as a family, to put something out there to influence the general public,” he said.

He added that he had only made the comments to clarify to his friends that he did not agree with his brother’s political views when they questioned him about it.

“I was getting a lot of feedback from my friends, old acquaintances, thinking that I was feeling the same way that my brother did on the issues, and I was trying to clarify that just to friends,” Jeff said. “I used Facebook, which wasn’t the right platform to do that. But I will say, I don’t agree with his policies.”

Jeff also clarified that he didn’t mean something serious by the “stories” he alluded to, but rather, stories along the lines of his siblings not wanting to sit next to Tim in the car due to car sickness when they were young.

“Nobody wanted to sit with him, because he had car sickness and would always throw up on us, that sort of thing,” Jeff said. “There’s really nothing else hidden behind there. People are assuming something else. There’s other stories like that, but I think that probably gives you the gist of it.”

Other than a brief phone call in August in which Tim asked Jeff for personal documents like “tax information and stuff like that” as he was being vetted by Harris’ presidential campaign team, Jeff and Tim had not spoken since Craig’s funeral in 2016.

Craig Walz

Craig was born on Aug. 17, 1972, and grew up in Butte, Neb., before attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, per his obituary. He graduated with a degree in mathematics and continued his education at the University of St. Mary’s where he earned his master’s in education.

Craig soon became a teacher where he met his wife, Julie Slominski, on his first day of teacher orientation. The two wed on May 26, 2001, and welcomed two children together: Jacob and Avery.

In 2016, Craig was tragically killed when a tree fell on his campsite during a storm, also injuring his son Jacob.

Sandy Dietrich

Sandy Dietrich, née Walz, has lived a more private life with her husband, Scott, in Nebraska. However, she entered the public eye after she cleared up conversation surrounding a photo that her and Tim’s distant cousins posted showing their support for Trump.

Trump reposted the image of eight people wearing “Nebraska Walz’s [sic] for Trump” shirts in front of a flag that read “Trump 2024 Take America Back” to his Truth Social account. However, Dietrich confirmed in an interview with the Associated Press that her immediate family “weren’t close” with the people in the image, adding, “We didn’t know them.”

“I know who I’m voting for. That’s all I can control,” Dietrich, a Democrat, said.

Tim Walz’s Wife and Kids

Gwen Walz

Tim and Gwen met when they were both teachers in the Mankato, Minn. school district. She grew up in Minnesota and married Tim on June 4, 1994. They have since welcomed two children, Hope and Gus, and continued to support one another as Tim pivoted into a career in politics, becoming the governor of Minnesota in 2018.

“We have always worked as a partnership,” Gwen said during a July 2024 appearance on the What If It Works podcast. “We are still one another’s closest advisers.”

Hope Walz

Tim and Gwen welcomed their first child, Hope, in January 2001. She graduated from Montana State University in 2023 and has since supported her father on the campaign trail, appearing on stage at the DNC in August 2024.

Gus Walz

Five years after welcoming Hope, Tim and Gwen grew their family with the birth of Gus on Oct. 13, 2006. In July 2024, the couple opened up in a statement to PEOPLE about Gus’ non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety diagnosis.

“We love our Gus,” Tim and Gwen said. “We are proud of the man he’s growing into, and we are so excited to have him with us on this journey.”

Gus made headlines in August 2024 when he got emotional as his father took the stage at the DNC, crying and yelling, “That’s my dad!” as he stood up to give him a standing ovation.