Anika Begay
Rep. Paul Torkleson, a Republican from Hanska, accepts an apple blondie from Gov. Tim Walz before the Minnesota House begins its session at the state Capitol, Monday, Feb. 12, 2024.
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ST. PAUL — On the opening day of this year’s Minnesota legislative session, Gov. Tim Walz rushed between chambers brandishing a spatula and a tray of cinnamon-spiced apple dessert bars.
“It’s a gesture of friendship to start this session,” Walz told reporters before handing Republican and Democratic lawmakers golden apples.
Walz began this tradition after being elected in 2018, when control of the House was split. He then had to find a compromise between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House.
That first term as governor was reminiscent of his time in Congress, when he was seen as a moderate. But his reputation changed after he was reelected governor in 2022 along with full Democratic control of state government, ushering in a series of progressive priorities in the years since.
“He does very little to reach out to the other side,” Minnesota House Republican Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said of Walz. “As a leader, I’ve had very little opportunity to work with him over the last two years.”
With nearly two decades in office, Walz has gone from straddling partisan divides to championing progressive priorities.
He defeated longtime Republican Rep. Gil Gutknect when he first ran for Congress in 2006 and was seen as a moderate “Blue Dog” Democrat. In one notable example, he broke with most Democrats in 2008 when he opposed the $700 billion bank bailout, called the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Walz had earned an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association while serving in Congress; he was later downgraded to an “F” for advocating restrictions on firearms.
But during recent legislative sessions, Walz has signed several progressive proposals without much support from Republicans in 2023. He passed a $72 billion budget package that extended free lunches to schoolchildren, required all Minnesota power plants to run on 100 percent green energy by 2040, and codified abortion rights in the state.
Students celebrate with Gov. Tim Walz after signing the free school lunch bill at Webster Elementary in northeast Minneapolis, Friday, March 17, 2023.
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“I guess we all change a little bit,” Walz told MPR News at the end of the 2023 legislative session when asked if his political positions had changed. “I don’t think of restricting abortion as a moderate position. If I were a moderate, would I go to eight weeks or something? Some of these things are just core values.”
Minnesota Republican Rep. Brad Finstad, who represents the congressional district once occupied by Walz, argued that Walz has “certainly changed.”
“I would say the only thing that’s conservative about Tim Walz is his haircut,” he said. “He’s a very different governor than he was as a member of Congress.”
The announcement that Walz would be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate came at the Farmfest agricultural fair in Redwood Falls. One attendee, Ken Ebnet, said he opposed spending during Walz’s administration.
“When we had all that surplus money last year, he could have given it back to the people,” he said.
Farmer Dan Lundell said he was excited to see how Walz could influence national politics as vice president.
“I think it is important at a national level to feed all children in schools [and] local foods,” he said. “This supports farmers. Farmers of all levels.”
Walz had been invited to speak at Farmfest, but was traveling to a series of Harris campaign events in key states. Instead, former North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp worked the crowd on his behalf, saying the policies Walz advocates transcend political labels and return to the roots of the Democratic Party.
“I think you could call them progressives, but ultimately, to me, they are an expression of where we started as a party in the New Deal,” Heitkamp said.
