While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz continues to hold his next political moves close to his vest, a new poll published this month shows he may have a presidential path among Democrat voters—depending on who’s running.
If Kamala Harris decides not to enter the 2028 presidential race, Walz, her 2024 running mate may be among a pack of frontrunners for the Democratic nomination.
Overton Insights conducted a presidential poll during the last week of June to examine voter opinions on hypothetical political matchups for the 2028 election.
The Utah-based outlet found that among the 1,200 likely voters who participated in the poll, 38 percent of Democrats they surveyed favored Kamala Harris as their nominee. Walz tied for fifth among a list of nine candidates, with 7 percent of Democrats polled saying that Walz would be their top choice in a presidential primary.
In a separate question, however, where the pollster removed Harris from a list of candidates, Walz shot up to first place—tied at 15 percent with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg.
Other candidates likely to be considered among Democratic voters included: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; U.S. Sen. Corey Booker; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
The July 2025 presidential poll comes at a time in Walz’s political career where he has flirted with running for third term as governor, while also continuing to seize opportunities to put himself in the national spotlight.
Multiple Minnesota-based media outlets have reported that the former Democratic vice presidential nominee is likely to make a decision on his next political move later this month.
In May, Walz sat down with KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser and said that he would likely “make that decision sometime in July.”
Signals that Walz has been seriously considering running for president include a self-described “Town Hall” tour he held in a handful of rural congressional districts outside Minnesota that tend to favor Republican candidates.
Last month, while legislative leaders were continuing to negotiate a deal on the state budget, Walz traveled coast-to-coast to deliver key note addresses to Democratic Party state conventions in South Carolina and California.
Overton Insights is brand new to the polling industry. It was founded in April by the Libertas Network, a well-known libertarian think tank.
In that same poll, 32 percent of likely Republican voters said they favor Vice President J.D. Vance as their nominee in 2028. Donald Trump Jr. garnered support from 26 percent of those surveyed, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at 11 percent.
In a head-to-head matchup between Republican and Democratic presidential frontrunner, 45 percent of those surveyed said they would for Harris, and 42 percent said they would vote for Vance.
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.
