Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ top picks for a presidential running mate, and a decision is expected by Tuesday.
Harris has narrowed down her list to two or three candidates, according to national media reports, with the vice president meeting with finalists over the weekend. Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona, met with Harris on Sunday, the Washington Post and others reported.
Walz would bring his liberal record as governor, experience in Congress as well as small-town Midwestern credentials and his background as a school teacher and his military service to the ticket.
And in recent weeks he’s gained national media attention for going on the attack against Republicans by calling them “weird,” a tactic that’s gained traction among Democrats trying to convince swing voters to come to their side.
What if Walz is picked?
The odds look decent that Minnesota’s governor will join the Democratic presidential ticket.
So if he does, what happens next?
Should Walz run with Harris, he will continue serving as governor through the presidential election. But if Harris defeats former President Donald Trump in November, Walz will have to step down.
If that happens, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would become governor of Minnesota for the rest of Walz’s second four-year term, which ends in January 2027. She would be the first woman and first Native American to hold the state’s highest elected office.
Even if Walz doesn’t get picked as vice president, he’s widely seen as a favorite for a cabinet position in a future Democratic administration. If Harris wins the 2024 presidential election, Walz could end up leaving the governor’s office if he’s asked to lead an executive agency like the Department of Education or Veterans Affairs.
The last Minnesota to serve as vice president was Walter Mondale in President Jimmy Carter’s administration. Before that Hubert Humphrey served with President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Who fills Flanagan’s seat?
With the lieutenant governor’s office open, the Minnesota Constitution calls for the “presiding officer” of the Senate to fill the position.
If that were to happen right now, it would mean Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, a Minneapolis DFLer, would fill the role. He would become Minnesota’s first Black lieutenant governor.
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party currently splits control of the Senate 33-33 with Republicans after the June resignation of State Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, who is running for Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District. However, the Legislature isn’t scheduled to convene until January.
There’s a special election for Morrison’s Senate seat in November on the same day as the general election that will determine who controls the majority in the Minnesota Senate. The rest of the Minnesota Senate isn’t up for election until 2026.
If Champion were to become lieutenant governor and step down from the senate, there would also be a special election for his seat. Democrats likely would regain control as his north Minneapolis district is a safe Democratic stronghold.
Though past transitions haven’t gone quite as smoothly.
Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach
In January 2018, then-Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to fill former U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s seat after Franken resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal.
The move automatically made Republican Senate President Michelle Fischbach the lieutenant governor.
Fischbach refused to resign from the Senate as it would have ended a slim Republican majority in the chamber. That prompted lawsuits from DFLers, who alleged holding two offices at once violated the state Constitution.
Fischbach refused to take the oath of her new office, and instead called herself “acting lieutenant governor.” But she resigned from the Senate in May following the 2018 legislative session.
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