Walz makes "surprise" visits to delegates, caucuses on Day 1 of DNC

Gov. Tim Walz spent his first day at the Democratic National Convention making a series of "surprise" appearances aimed at revving up rank-and-file delegates.

Why it matters: Walz's national profile has skyrocketed in the weeks since joining the ticket. As Democrats around the country rush to get to know him, he's become a sought-after surrogate .

Driving the news: The governor started the morning with remarks at breakfast gatherings of delegates from swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

• He then make back-to-back stump speeches at caucus meetings for Asian American Pacific Islander, Native, Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ delegates.

What he's saying: At each gathering, Walz —sometimes introduced as "coach" — gave political pep talks, focused on the sprint to Election Day and highlighted the enthusiasm he says he's seen since joining the ticket just two weeks ago.

• "Donald Trump said they were AI," he said of the large crowd in Michigan that prompted the GOP to falsely claim that pictures of the rally were digitally doctored.
• "You know what's not going to be AI? Their ballots."

What they're saying: "It meant so much to us that of all the caucus breakfasts he went first to, he went first to the [Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander] caucus," U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) told Axios.

• She noted that Asian Americans are just "4% of the population in some of our biggest battleground states."

Zoom in: At that meeting, Walz, whose long history of visits to China has drawn scrutiny from Republicans, dropped some Mandarin .

• Later at the Native caucus, he talked up relationships with Tribal Nations in Minnesota, as well as the state's move to redesign what he called a "racist" state flag.
• The room erupted in cheers after he mentioned how Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would become the first Native American woman to lead a U.S. state if the Democratic ticket wins.

1 ope to go: Even with the flurry of recent national headlines, the Minnesota Democrat's biography hasn't fully set in for some party leaders.

• At the LGBTQ meeting, he was introduced as the governor of Wisconsin .

Axios' Niala Boodhoo contributed to this report.