MINNESOTA NOT-SO-NICE — Tim Walz talks. A lot. That’s the shared observation from the Minnesota Republicans who challenged the Democratic vice presidential nominee throughout a political career that dates back nearly two decades. Walz’s tendency to opine at length, often using folksy language playing up his working-class, Midwestern roots, made him a popular figure in Democratic politics — and endlessly frustrated the Republicans who faced off against him in debates. For JD Vance, who will debate him on Tuesday evening, those experiences are a cautionary tale. The Ohio senator is up against a seasoned debater who isn’t easily pinned down and who’s never lost an election. Vance, on the other hand, has less than two years in the Senate and relatively few debates under his belt. It’s one reason Polymarket, one of the largest online prediction markets, gives Walz a 70 percent chance of winning the debate. “He kinda takes the oxygen out of the room,” said Randy Demmer, who ran against Walz in a 2010 congressional race and lost. “He talks a stream — if you get him going, he keeps talking. He has a tendency to talk around issues, and quite frankly, it’s hard to get a good idea of what he said.” “I call him ‘Word Salad Walz’ because he’ll talk and talk and talk and talk and when he gets flustered he talks really, really fast,” said Greg Peppin, who ran former Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s congressional campaigns against Walz in 2014 and 2016. Hagedorn later flipped the district in 2018 when Walz declined to run for reelection and pursued the governorship instead. Some of Walz’s Republican rivals were so confounded that they dispensed with the Minnesota Nice approach when describing him. “The guy is totally dishonest, you can’t trust anything he says,” said Allen Quist, whom Walz beat in 2012 by more than 15 points. “That was the main difficulty I had in running against the guy, he would make things up as he went on.” “He’s just going to say whatever is politically expedient, whether it’s true or not,” Quist said. To help Vance prepare, Republicans brought in a fellow Minnesotan, GOP House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, to stand in for Walz during debate preparations. Emmer, who served in Congress with Walz, explained on Sunday that his role was getting Vance accustomed to Walz’s style. “I spent the last month just going back, all of his old stuff, to get his phrases down, his mannerisms, that sort of thing,” Emmer said. “My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see.” Expect to see Vance bring up the main attack line against Walz that has existed in Minnesota GOP circles since the dawn of his foray into politics: That the governor is a political chameleon and it’s difficult to discern what he truly stands for. Republicans go after Walz for flip flopping on gun rights, pointing to the National Rifle Association changing its rating of Walz from an ‘A’ to an ‘F.’ For his part, Walz has said that he backs Second Amendment rights but also supports background checks and red-flag policies, which he says are necessary to keep kids safe in schools. “He’s a San Francisco liberal,” Peppin said. “The only difference between him and Gavin Newsom is Gavin Newsom has better hair.” The comparison to the California governor, who is a frequent punching bag for Republicans, is a familiar part of GOP messaging against Walz. Emmer has described his home state governor as “Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt ,” an attempt to portray Walz as being far more liberal than he presents. Yet throughout his trajectory as a moderate-turned-progressive Democrat, Walz has defeated seven Republicans — in some races, by double-digit margins. But in others, he barely squeaked by, including when he was reelected to Congress for the final time in 2016 by just over 2,500 votes. In the run-up to Tuesday’s debate, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has played the role of Vance, a fellow Midwesterner, in Walz’s debate prep. Buttigieg also acted as Vice President Mike Pence in Kamala Harris’ mock debate sessions in 2020. “To his credit, Walz has been able to maneuver political pitfalls,” said Marty Seifert, former GOP state House leader. “The greatest policy criticism is waiting too long to call out the National Guard when the riots were going on day after day in Minneapolis. A huge, record breaking surplus was entirely spent and taxes raised on top of that, and social policies like having tampons provided in boy’s restrooms in schools, are not viewed as mainstream. But he’s quick on his feet, affable and knows his audiences well.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . 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