Ag Policy Blog

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is quickly garnering more attention as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris after his description of former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance as "weird."

"Those guys are just weird," Walz said on Saturday, and it went viral for Democrats.

Walz, 60, has become viewed as a Democratic "rural Midwest" counter to Vance, the New York Times noted. NBC News described Walz's appeal as "a popular two-term Midwestern governor, former congressman, military veteran and former public-school teacher." The Hill stated Walz "has seen his national profile skyrocket as he becomes one of his party's most vocal critics of the GOP in the wake of the presidential race's shake-up."

In Politico, Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten -- a rare rural Democrat in western Iowa -- said Walz also has faced tough races in Minnesota while Harris comes from California, which is more Democratic overall.

Last week on social platform X, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., touting Walz also said he knows how to win tough races. "We are in the middle of one of the most consequential presidential races in our country's history -- and we need a battle-tested leader on the ticket," Craig stated on X.

Trump also has been paying more attention to Minnesota in hopes of flipping the state. NBC suggested Walz could hold the "blue wall" of not only Minnesota, but Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Walz has been Minnesota's governor since taking office in 2019. Before that, he was a six-term congressman representing a mainly rural district in southern Minnesota. Walz also served on the House Agriculture Committee from 2007 until he became governor. Walz was involved in drafting and passing the 2008, 2014 and 2018 farm bills.

Walz's roots are actually in Nebraska. He was raised in Valentine, Nebraska, and went to Chadron State College in the northwest corner of the state. Early in his teaching career, Walz also had teaching stints on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota as well as in China. Walz was a high-school social studies teacher from 1989 to 2006. He took a teaching job in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1996 and taught there until he chose to run for Congress.

Walz also joined the Nebraska National Guard at age 17 and retired from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005 at the rank of command sergeant major.

As governor, Walz joined other Midwest governors to push EPA to allow those states to sell E15 year-round. That goes into effect in 2025. He had pushed for legislation in Minnesota for E15 as well. Walz also wrote President Joe Biden in February 2021 calling on his administration to consider executive orders that would encourage more biofuel use. One proposal Walz pitched was to tighten the Clean Air Act by replacing aromatics in gasoline with alternatives, which would force a shift to higher-octane ethanol.

In 2020, Walz also joined South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and then-Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts -- all Republicans -- in asking Trump administration EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to reject 52 petroleum refiner applications for retroactive small refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Walz also has pushed to expand school breakfasts and lunches in his state. Last year, he signed a bill allowing free school meals for children who attend public and private schools.

In May 2023, Walz signed a bill legalizing recreational cannabis in Minnesota, a position he had backed since his ran for governor.

On Facebook Walz recently touted establishing paid leave for illnesses, expanding collective bargaining rights and touting "clean-energy job growth to create good-paying union jobs."

Walz has pushed back on complaints that his policies are too liberal. "What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions," Politico quoted.

CNN reported Walz on Monday showed up on a Zoom fundraiser for "White Dudes for Harris." Walz said to the group, "How often in a hundred days do you get to change the trajectory of the world? How often in a hundred days do you get to do something that's going to impact generations to come?" Walz asked.

Also see, "Vance Has Little History in Ag Policy, But He Has Rural Roots and a Story," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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