Vice President Kamala Harris did Tim Walz typed, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, as her running mate following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race last month. Walz’s recent comments about former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, especially his comments about the opposition’s “strange” propertieshelped put the little-known progressive on the national map.
Before his cable news comments went viral and Harris ushered him into the national spotlight, the former soldier, football coach and high school teacher was in the midst of an unexpectedly ambitious and productive second term as the North Star State’s chief executive. A progressive with a rural background and a penchant for coalition building, Walz was able to use an uncertain Democratic trifecta to achieve a slew of progressive priorities. The biggest of these occurred just months after the 2022 midterm elections, when Walz signed law it requires the state’s utilities to get 100 percent of their electricity from clean sources by 2040. The legislation has Minnesota, a blue state with purple tendenciesat the top of the state-level climate action leaderboard.
“This is not about banking political capital for the next election,” Walz said last year. “It’s about burning political capital to improve lives.” Still, Walz appears to have political capital to spare — as of February, he has a 55 percent approval rating in his home state.
As governor, so did Walz signed bipartisan legislation to reform Minnesota’s permitting process for clean energy projects, funds a clean energy job training program for minority and low-income Minnesotans, approved new clean transport standardsand enacted a law directing $240 million to replace the state’s lead water pipes. In other states, Republicans (and even some centrist Democrats) have sought to cast politicians who oversee ambitious climate agendas as desperate to raise energy prices and as generally out of touch with the general public. But Walz’s reputation as a jack of all trades and his skill as a communicator may have shielded him from the typical anti-climate attacks.
“I think he has a very well-rounded climate record,” said Paul Austin, the head of Conservation Minnesota, a state environmental nonprofit. “He is a person who tries to bring people together across communities and geographies to find solutions that work for everyone. It was part of his characteristic.”
Walz’s experience in Minnesota could be a boon for Harris as she crafts an on-the-fly legislative agenda that builds on progress made by the Biden administration. Biden’s crowning achievement of policy, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, is sending billions of dollars to states and tribes for clean energy projects and deployment. Congress is unlikely to pass another law like this anytime soon. This is especially true if Trump is reelected, but it’s a safe bet even with Harris in the White House – polls suggest that whichever party controls the Senate, House, or both, is likely to have a razor-thin majority. Much of the climate action we will see in the next few years will likely come from states.
Many states already ahead with climate change when Trump was in office, before the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. But many more states are poised to spend money on renewable and climate projects now that federal clean energy incentives are flowing across the country. “It’s great to have the help of someone who has served as governor and seen the federal government work and deliver from the other side,” Austin said. “He’s going to bring a lot of experience on how states and the federal government work together and how that can be smoothed out and improved.”
