By Weeks after the Harris-Walz ticket’s loss in the presidential election, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is evaluating the Democratic Party’s missteps and setting his sights on the state’s 2025 legislative session. The defeat to President-elect Donald Trump has sparked reflection for Walz, as he considers how Democrats can reconnect with working-class voters and what lies ahead for his own political career.
In a candid interview with his hometown newspaper, Walz shared his thoughts on the election’s outcome, expressing frustration over the party’s messaging struggles. “Somehow, we allowed the narrative that a billionaire who spent his life exploiting the middle class would be a better choice for them,” Walz told The Minnesota Star Tribune, emphasizing the need to reestablish a connection with everyday Americans.
NEW: Tim Walz said he thought it was a “flex” that he was the poorest VP candidate in history, says he thought people would respect that he has to “pay his bills.”
They still don’t get it.
“I thought it was a real flex when the Wall Street Journal pointed out that I might have… pic.twitter.com/OTkOFT8ACt
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 13, 2024
Like most Democrats, despite their loss, Walz believes he and Harris resoundingly lost because they had a messaging issue, not a policy problem.
“For whatever reason, people were going to vote for Trump,” Walz said. “They didn’t believe us. They thought we were elite. [Republicans] were masterful at dragging us down on some of those things.”
Walz said the goals of the middle class remain the same: Safety, earning more, having health care and good public schools.
“Obviously, Donald Trump probably knows that they want that, too,” he said. “He didn’t message a damn thing about that, and I don’t believe he’s going to deliver on it.”
People “voted for it and they want mass deportations. I think now that’s going to become a little more realistic when federal agents come into your church during Mass, stop Mass and arrest the person sitting next to you worshiping, or they’re there when the child’s being dropped off at school, and they arrest the parents, and then we’ll have to figure out where the kids go after school.”
Wonder why the Harris-Walz ticket lost? Listen to this clip. According to @Tim_Walz, the American people are the problem. I suspect Mr. Walz’s political career is nearing its end, and it’s no wonder why. MN is a mess under his watch. https://t.co/cpv1B2PEjk
— Andy Brehm (@andybrehm) December 6, 2024
As Trump’s administration prepares to take office, Walz anticipates a challenging environment, he said. He plans to protect Minnesota’s interests while navigating potential conflicts with federal policies.
Despite the Harris-Walz ticket’s loss, the Minnesota governor said he remains committed to guiding the Democratic Party forward. His focus is on ensuring his state and party continue to embody progressive values and resilience in a time of national uncertainty. Through introspection and steadfast advocacy, Walz aims to position both his state and his party for future success.
While Walz hasn’t ruled out another bid on the national stage, he stressed the need for internal reflection. “I want to be a voice for the middle class and keep fighting for their priorities,” he said, highlighting economic stability, healthcare, and education as key areas of focus.
Walz may need help getting people to listen to him nationally. In the aftermath of the election, it’s become clear that he was a terrible pick of running mate for Kamala Harris.
Chris Cilizza recently spoke for many people when he called the Minnesota governor “a dud.”
He wrote, “Walz, I genuinely believe, wound up as Harris’ VP because of a single interview he did with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in late July in which he described Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance as “weird.”
That simple description of Trump, Vance and their ilk went viral. It was, for Democrats, the perfect encapsulation of what they had long believed about Trump and Trumpism. It distilled it all into a single, utterly catchy word.
Momentum always matters in VP picks but it mattered even more in such a short selection window. Walz was the hot thing in Democratic politics for the two weeks when Harris needed to pick a running mate. And so she picked him.
And, while it’s unrealistic to blame Harris’ losses in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on Walz, I do distinctly recall lots and lots of people making the case here and elsewhere that the Minnesota governor was just the sort of pick that would help Harris relate to voters in those critical Blue Wall states.
Well, that didn’t work. In fact, Harris won Minnesota — Walz’s home state — by only four points, down from the 7-point margin Joe Biden had in the state in 2020. And, as conservatives gleefully noted, the Harris-Walz ticket even lost the governor’s home county.”
Most observers were shocked that Harris did not pick the popular Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate.
[Read More: FBI Had Informants On January 6]
