MINNEAPOLIS — Governor Tim Walz doesn't want to speculate about his odds of being asked to join Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate, but plenty of other people are talking about it.
Among them is political analyst Steven Schier, who penned an Op-Ed in Minneapolis Star Tribune Wednesday listing the pros and cons of Walz joining the Harris ticket.
"He's a small town, Midwestern fellow who can appeal to a lot of those swing voters in smaller towns in the upper Midwest," said Schier, a retired Carleton College political science professor.
"He offers contrast because he’s quite different from Kamala Harris and her background, but he also matches up well with JD Vance."
Schier said Walz has a track record of winning elections, winning his Southern Minnesota congressional seat six times and winning two statewide races for governor.
"He's been electorally successful throughout his career. He will bring some talented staff from Minnesota to the campaign. He will be very loyal to Kamala Harris."
But Schier also sees the downsides to a Harris-Walz ticket, part of the Walz legacy that will surely invite Republican attacks. The Democratic governor has taken a lot of heat from conservative critics for delays in getting the Minnesota National Guard deployed to the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd.
"His controversial record during the Minneapolis riots, and the fact Minneapolis was burning, that would be the first thing Republicans would bring up when he was introduced to the national audience," Schier said.
"One problem for Tim Walz is he’s not well-known nationally. And if he were picked, would he have time to define himself before he's defined by the opposition because people don’t know him? That would be a challenge for the Harris campaign."
Walz has seen his national profile rise lately as head of the Democratic Governors Association and a surrogate stumping for the Biden Campaign in other states. But he's still not as well-known as other names reportedly under consideration, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
July has already been a month of monumental surprises in politics, including President Biden's exit from the race and an assassination attempt that wounded former President Donald Trump. So, in the context of the seemingly unpredictable political climate, there may still be an opening for Walz.
"Don't rule Tim Walz out because every day has been a surprise in this campaign in the last several weeks. So, this is quite possible," Schier said.
Walz is not up for reelection this year, so he wouldn't have to resign just to run for Vice President. If he were to be elected Vice President, he'd have to step down from his Minnesota post before the inauguration in January.
The line of succession in Minnesota law is for the lieutenant governor to become governor if the office becomes vacant, and for the Senate president to become lieutenant governor. At this point, however, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion are more focused on helping Harris get elected regardless of who her running mate turns out to be.
In 2018, Minnesota Senate President Michelle Fischbach became lieutenant governor when then-Lt. Gov. Tina Smith filled Al Franken's seat in the US Senate. Fischbach decided to keep both of her jobs, which drew legal challenges. The Paynesville Republican eventually resigned from the Senate after the 2018 session ended.