As rumors of a growing rift between Gov. Tim Walz and his lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan continue to permeate political circles in Minnesota, one of Flanagan’s political confidantes has come to her defense.
Javier Morillo is well known in DFL circles as an organizer and pundit. He co-hosts a bipartisan podcast, “Wrong About Everything.” He also happens to be godfather to Flanagan’s daughter.
Earlier this month, Morillo took the opportunity to blast recent media reports that allege Flanagan had been preparing her own path to the governor’s office while her boss was running for vice president, and that Walz and his staff weren’t happy about it. Walz even said in one of his first interviews following the Nov. 5 election that if someone from within the DFL camp wants to run for governor, “We could always have a primary.”
One of those reports published in the Star Tribune quoted anonymous sources who said “the Walz team was not pleased at steps Flanagan had taken to assume the governorship, conferring with potential key hires and preparing for a possible run herself in 2026.”
The governor himself was asked point-blank during an interview on WCCO Radio whether it was true that “there’s people within your own administration who are telling reporters that you’re not happy that Lt. Gov. Flanagan tapped into your gubernatorial campaign fund.”
Walz denied any knowledge of that allegation. Flanagan and her spokeswoman didn’t return Alpha News’ requests for comment earlier this month. But Morillo, during the Dec. 20 episode of “Wrong About Everything,” blasted the credibility of those initial media reports and intimated that they have been very “painful” for Flanagan to endure.
“I just want to say, I know what they are talking about, and it is 100 percent false,” Morillo said. “And that is why when the governor, I imagine is why, the governor yesterday when he went on [WCCO Radio], he kind of walked it back.”
“It’s a lie, people. Period,” Morillo said.
Morillo’s comments came as his podcast co-hosts speculated on what sort of gubernatorial campaign “resources” Flanagan may have utilized while Walz was away from the state in the final stretch of his national campaign as the running mate to Kamala Harris. Co-host Alysen Nesse, a Democrat-allied lobbyist, said that the “funds” Flanagan may have been utilizing were staff resources to help her navigate a potential transition to governor, should Harris and Walz have won the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Morillo and his co-hosts also speculated on who may be leaking rumors of the rift to the press.
“This is a very, as you can imagine, painful situation for the person, who is my friend,” Morillo said, referencing how the media reports have impacted Flanagan. “I would just ask anyone to consider, why would she want this story out there? I don’t think there is a reason she would, because there isn’t. Because it is actually really crappy.”
Walz and Flanagan haven’t appeared together in several weeks. Walz has downplayed that optic as nothing more than “just taking a look at, again, ‘How do we approach this job to cover more ground?'”
Co-host Brian McDaniel asked Morillo whether he thinks the rift can be mended.
“I think anything can be fixed,” Morillo said, noting that Flanagan did more than 70 events as a surrogate to help Walz on the national campaign trail.
“There are times when the lieutenant governor has stood side by side with the governor, because that’s her role, when it came to decisions that she ended up getting a lot of flak for; some of them from her own community. And she has been a very loyal soldier … It (expletive) sucks.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
