Watch live: Tim Walz set to speak on Day 3 of Democratic National Convention

(NEXSTAR) – Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and former President Bill Clinton are headlining the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, marking the third day of the choreographed rollout of the party's new candidate, Kamala Harris, and her pitch to voters.

Clinton walked out to Coldplay's "Fix You" and, like other DNC speakers, began his speech by praising President Joe Biden. He compared Biden to George Washington, suggesting that Biden strengthened his legacy by deciding to end his reelection campaign.

"Remember, he had an improbable term that made him president, and we were in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crash. He healed our sick and put the rest of us back to work," Clinton said. "And then he did something that's really hard for a politician to do. He voluntarily gave up political power."

The 42nd president later endorsed Harris and Walz, saying they'll bring in a "breath of fresh air."

"We need Kamala Harris, the president of joy, to lead us," he said.

During Walz's speech, the governor of Minnesota will make the case that he's ready to not only win the 2024 race but help run the country when Biden's term comes to an end in January.

Convention organizers dubbed the theme for Wednesday “a fight for our freedoms," a nod to the concept around which Harris has organized her campaign. She frames her Republican opponent as a threat to abortion rights and personal choices, but also to democracy itself.

Harris is working to stitch together a broad coalition in her bid to defeat Trump this fall. She is drawing on prominent figures such as former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Hollywood stars, officials from across the political spectrum — from the far left to the center — and even some Republicans to strengthen her campaign.

Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke Wednesday along with "everyday Americans."

Music icon Stevie Wonder also appeared onstage to give a brief speech before breaking into “Higher Ground.” He asked the audience, “Are y’all ready to reach a higher ground? Because you know we need Kamala Harris.”

According to reports from Rolling Stone and the Wall Street Journal, Grammy-winning R&B singer John Legend is expected to perform a medley of songs by the late megastar and Minnesota native, Prince, ahead of welcoming the vice presidential nominee.

Political scientists say VP picks rarely swing an election, but Democrats hope Walz, who is known for his reliability to working-class voters, could be a key figure in shoring up support for Harris in key battleground states.

“So much is on the line in this election,” Harris said Tuesday in Milwaukee, where she spoke at a professional basketball arena in battleground Wisconsin as the convention continued 90 miles away in Chicago. “And understand, this not 2016 or 2020. The stakes are higher.”

Walz's job when he accepts the nomination is to introduce himself to Americans who had never heard of him until Harris plucked him from relative obscurity to join her ticket. His goofy, folksy, Midwestern dad aura has endeared him to Democrats and balanced Harris' coastal background.

In the intense scrutiny that comes with a presidential campaign, Walz has faced repeated questions about embellishing his background. His wife, Gwen Walz, this week clarified that she did not undergo in vitro fertilization but used other fertility treatments after Republicans pointed to multiple times her husband talked publicly about his family's reliance on IVF. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, called Tim Walz a liar.

Republicans have also pointed to a 2018 comment in which Walz refers to weapons “that I carried in war” while talking about gun violence. Though he served in the National Guard for 24 years, Walz did not deploy to a war zone.

Clinton, meanwhile, is a veteran of the political convention speech — and famously longwinded. He bored the audience with his keynote address at the 1988 Democratic convention, when he was the young, little-known governor of Arkansas. It damaged his reputation, but he recovered and when he next spoke at a convention four years later it was to accept the Democratic nomination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.