When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was chosen to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate for the 2024 presidential election, the man Republicans describe as “dangerously liberal” instantly became a national figure.
Having climbed the political ladder from congressman to governor to vice presidential nominee, Walz is familiar with the art of moving to higher office. Yet, Walz was not always so keen on politicians climbing the political hierarchy.
In an article by the Rochester Post Bulletin published on Dec. 22, 2008, Walz dismissed speculation that he was considering participating in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Walz stated in an interview that he was “not a big fan of people running for office and moving on to another one.” After winning the 2018 gubernatorial election and reelection in 2022, Walz’s current term as governor expires in January 2027. As such, if he were elected vice president, he would be replaced as governor by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
TBT: "I am not a big fan of people running for office and moving on to another one." @Tim_Walz (Post Bulletin, 12/22/08) pic.twitter.com/XKpHBilvRk
— Mark Drake (@markhdrake) August 1, 2024
Walz’s apparent change of mind is not the first time the former school teacher has flip-flopped.
The recipient of an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a congressman, Walz became a staunch advocate of gun control after he became governor.
As a congressman in a swing district, Walz also received $18,950 in campaign contributions from the NRA during his time in Congress. After being called out by a Democratic primary opponent for accepting the contributions, Walz agreed to donate the NRA contributions to a veterans charity.
Walz also avoided taking credit for being the first to attack the Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, as “weird.” The line of attack, which was largely attributed to Walz, has been used repeatedly by top Democrats.
In a recent interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Walz appeared giddy and nodded when Cooper referred to him as the originator of the pejorative. However, Walz’s gleeful expression disappeared after Cooper confronted the governor with a quote from The New York Times’ Tom Friedman, who declared, “I cannot think of a sillier, more playground, more foolish and counterproductive political taunt for Democrats to seize on than calling Trump and his supporters ‘weird.'”
Walz then claimed that he was not responsible for first referring to Trump and Vance as “weird,” but instead claimed that friends, neighbors, and even Republicans were the first to begin referring to the GOP nominees in this fashion.
Evan Poellinger
Evan Poellinger, the Alpha News Summer 2024 Journalism Fellow, is a native Minnesotan with a lifelong passion for history and politics. He previously worked as a journalism intern with the American Spectator and an investigative journalism fellow with the Media Research Center. He is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross with degrees in political science and history.
