Tim Walz has friends in Congress. They say his political chops could help Harris as VP.

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is on a group text called “sports buddies” with dozens of current and former members of Congress, men and women. They mostly trash-talk each others’ favorite teams.

But when Walz gave an interview on MSNBC after President Joe Biden withdrew from the election, that chat became a venue to discuss a different competition: who will be named Kamala Harris’ running mate.

“Walz blew it up on MS this morning. He now has to be on the list,” former Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., texted the group.

It was part of a media blitz by the popular two-term governor in recent days, which has not only helped add a key viral message to the Harris campaign — Walz’s message slamming Republicans as “weird” was quickly embraced by Harris and other Democrats — but has also catapulted him to the short list of her veep contenders.

Walz didn’t engage on the text chain, but others felt the same way. “A lot of people chimed in saying, ‘Wow, Tim would be great,’” said Yarmuth, a former Budget Committee chairman who retired from the House last year.

Yarmuth and Walz were elected to Congress in the blue wave of 2006, when Democrats picked up some 30 seats and won control of the House. Walz was soon elected freshman class president.

“That says a lot about his standing with his colleagues and the affection that he’s able to generate personally,” Yarmuth said.

Walz, 60, is relatively unknown on the national stage — most Democratic voters wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a crowd. But Walz, who served for more than two decades in the Army National Guard and went on to become the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, was well respected on Capitol Hill during his 12-year stint, including for his political instincts.