Gov. Tim Walz returned home from the campaign trail to a divided state legislature. Minnesota’s public perception of the former vice presidential Democratic nominee is just as split.
Walz ended 2024 with over $1 million in campaign cash, year-end campaign finance reports show. The blue wall state governor raised the bulk of those funds before joining Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential ticket, where he wore his camo hats and middle-class status as a badge of honor.
Walz has not formally announced whether he will seek a third term for governor but said he will likely make a decision this summer. A spokesperson said Walz is focused on leading a split state legislature in the meantime.
“Regardless of the chaos unfolding in Washington, D.C., Governor Walz will continue working with Republicans and Democrats at the State Capitol to balance the budget and make Minnesota the best state to live, work, and raise a family,” Walz’s spokesperson said in a statement.
TIM WALZ SAYS LOSING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS ‘PURE HELL,’ ADMITS DEMS ARE ‘FATIGUED’ IN MSNBC INTERVIEW
The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks at Laborfest on Sept. 2, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
While Walz says he is committed to working across the aisle, Minnesota’s state house has spent weeks at a standstill. Republicans proposed a recall of their Democratic colleagues for failing to show up to work.
“They technically had the organizational majority to kick off on Jan. 14 when we began our legislative session,” Republican state Sen. Mark Koran said. “The Democrats refused to. They held a special swearing-in ceremony in secret for their 66 members, and then they’ve refused for over three weeks now to show up to the Minnesota House to organize, so they can do business.”
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GOP state Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital that Gov. Tim Walz’s agenda is not in line with Minnesota voters. (Getty Images)
Koran said Walz has been missing in action, telling Fox Digital that the governor is anything but bipartisan.
“He is nonexistent as far as the Democrats holding this hostage,” Koran said. “He’s not taking a leadership role. I can tell you about the only thing he does in a bipartisan manner is he doesn’t work with Republicans or Democrats, and so he’s very isolated and doesn’t meet with anybody.”
Walz defended Minnesota Democrats for boycotting their legislative session in an interview with FOX 9 KMSP, elevating the state conflict to the national level by taking aim at DOGE’s ongoing federal layoffs.
“We are not going to allow you to do what we’re seeing at the federal level. You are not going to go in and fire state employees. You are not going to take power in a short-term window of gap. That’s not what the voters voted for,” Walz said.
Gov. Tim Walz takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan Mcdermid)
Minnesota Republicans told Fox Digital that controversies on the campaign trail have tarnished his reputation back home. Walz’s background dominated headlines this summer; over claims of “stolen valor” for inconsistencies describing his military service, saying he “misspoke” when he said he visited Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and over his family’s in vitro fertilization story that never was. Walz laughed off the missteps, calling himself a “knucklehead.”
“The average Minnesotans didn’t really know who Tim Walz was,” retired Minnesota State Patrol Lt. John Nagel told Fox Digital. “With running for vice president, people suddenly realized this guy is not who so many of us thought he was. He’s not this happy grandpa teacher that wears plaid. He is an individual that wants to keep his power. He’s lied to make himself look better.
“Walz’s ego is bruised,” Nagel added. “He is not happy that he’s not walking around as vice president.”
Nagel and Koran agreed the national reporting during the presidential campaign made Minnesotans think twice about Walz.
“I think Minnesotans should reject his political agenda, just as the nation did. He came back extraordinarily damaged. The Democrats are going to take him out within his own party, likely in the next gubernatorial primary. There’s a Senate seat open in Minnesota. He wants the national spotlight. At the end of the day, if he has nothing else, I think he’ll be running for governor again,” Koran said.
Ken Martin speaks after being elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee in National Harbor, Maryland, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Newly elected DNC Chair Ken Martin, former chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, said in a statement that Republicans “have tried to tear down Governor Walz” but the governor has maintained the trust of Minnesota voters by delivering key progressive policy.
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“Partisan Republicans have tried to tear down Governor Walz, but the support and trust that he has earned from Minnesotans has endured,” Martin said. “From free school meals to paid family leave, the working-class agenda that Governor Walz and DFL leaders have championed enjoys strong support from a clear majority of Minnesotans. Our party is ready to fight with Governor Walz to lower costs while protecting critical investments in our schools and the programs that support working families.”
