Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz doesn’t rule out VP role as presidential nomination race is reset

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared himself open Monday to a vice presidential run a day after President Joe Biden announced he will not seek reelection, paving the way for a new Democratic ticket.

Walz told MPR News that he spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday night, following the announcement that she would pursue the Democratic Party’s nomination. Many in the party, including Walz, are coalescing around Harris to be the party’s nominee.

Walz said that he’d seriously consider being added to the ticket, if Harris asked.

“She mentioned she would need my help. And I said she has it in any way that she sees fit,” Walz told Minnesota Now hosted by Cathy Wurzer. “If that’s the direction she goes, I guess that’s fine.”

Walz noted that he loves his job as governor of Minnesota but would consider the role of vice president if he felt he could bring more to the Democratic ticket.

“When I travel, a lot of states like what we’re doing here, and I think that idea that we could do that in other places would be great,” he said. “So if I could add to the vice president’s agenda, if I could add to that ticket, if I could help electorally, I would certainly listen to her.” 

With the presidential race now scrambled, Democrats must first settle on a new nominee. And that puts Walz and other Minnesota Democrats in a key role as they organize the Democratic National Convention next month. The Harris campaign has reportedly included Walz in a list of potential vice president candidates it's seeking information from.

Walz declined to say whether he has submitted background information to the Harris presidential campaign for consideration as a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate. He told WCCO Radio Tuesday morning that he's not commenting on that right now.

Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have voiced their support for Harris. So have a majority of the state’s convention delegates.

Walz will play a key role in shaping the nomination process as co-chair of the convention’s rules committee. He will be at the table as Democratic leaders decide how the voting process moves forward — and whether delegates will cast votes remotely before the convention kicks off.

He is also in the spotlight as a possible running mate pick for Harris or whomever picks up the Democratic nomination.

As a second-term Democratic governor who steered through a slate of progressive policy wins in recent years, Walz could also bring Midwestern heft and a background as a former school teacher to the ticket. He also served for decades in the Army National Guard and represented southern Minnesota in Congress before running for governor in 2018.

Democratic delegate James Barone of Minnesota said that background — and his experience as a teacher — would make Walz uniquely qualified.

“Being sergeant major in the National Guard has challenges. Being in Congress for 12 years has challenges, being governor has challenges, but there is no challenge greater than supervising a lunchroom at a high school in Mankato, Minn.,” said Barone, a former assistant attorney general.

Walz has climbed the ranks on the national Democratic scene, too, and now heads the Democratic Governors Association. Biden named Walz as his Council of Governors co-chair, too.

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said he expects to see Walz and maybe others on the short list.

“I wouldn't be surprised and I certainly hope that some of those folks would be in consideration like Governor Walz or Senator Klobuchar, public servants who have a remarkable history in this state and around the country a great record of success,” Martin told reporters on Sunday. “I'm sure Governor Walz would be considered for something.”

Walz joked his inclusion in the vice presidential conversation is a “testament to Minnesota. We are the land of vice presidents,” he said, referring to Hubert H. Humphrey and Walter Mondale who both held the title.

While Walz could bring Midwest clout to the ticket, opponents could also point to riots that erupted in the state following George Floyd’s murder, as well as widespread fraud during COVID-19 under a federal program intended to feed kids. Audits have suggested lapses in oversight by the state Department of Education.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also threw her support behind Harris and said she isn’t vying for the vice presidential slot.

“I am running for United States Senate. And Minnesota law actually says you can’t do both things at once,” Klobuchar said. “So I am on a path to run for Senate. That’s what I’m doing. And I think there are many many good qualified people out there.”

Other names being floated include: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, retiring North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

Martin, with the DFL, said it’s important that Democrats quickly coalesce around a presidential candidate.

“We don’t have as much time as we’d like to, to have a process like that,” Martin said, when asked about establishing a vetting process for candidates ahead of the convention. “The longer we spend on an internal conversation is the less time that we all have to actually take on Donald, Donald Trump and JD Vance.”

MPR News senior politics editor Brian Bakst and correspondent Peter Cox contributed to this report.