ST PAUL, Minn. — With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz selected to fill the VP slot on the Democratic ticket with presidential nominee Kamala Harris, what does that mean for Minnesota’s state government?
Does Walz need to step down to run?
Under Minnesota state law, Walz can maintain his position as governor while running for vice president. A handful of other states have so-called “resign-to-run” laws that require certain officeholders to resign their seats to run for another office, but Minnesota does not have such a law.
If Harris and Walz are defeated by former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, Walz would remain as governor and serve out the remainder of his current term, which expires in January 2027. He could run for re-election in 2026 if he chooses. If Harris and Walz win, he could resign at any point after the election and before the inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Who becomes governor if Walz is elected VP?
Minnesota’s executive branch would face historic changes if the Harris-Walz ticket is victorious and Walz resigns from office.
Minnesota statutes make the order of gubernatorial succession clear: When there’s a vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. In this case, that would be Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who would become the first woman to become governor in Minnesota’s history and the first Native American woman to serve as governor in U.S. history (two men with Native American heritage have served as governor, both in Oklahoma).
If Flanagan becomes governor statutes say the “last duly elected president of the senate shall become lieutenant governor.” The current senate president is Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, who would become the state’s first Black lieutenant governor.
Champion’s elevation to lieutenant governor would erase the one-seat DFL majority in the Minnesota Senate, and a special election would be held to fill his seat.
When was the last time the governor’s office was vacant?
The last gubernatorial vacancy occurred in 1976 when DFL Gov. Wendell Anderson resigned and his successor, Gov. Rudy Perpich, nominated Anderson to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy created by then-Sen. Walter Mondale’s election as vice president.
The last vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor occurred in 2018 when Gov. Mark Dayton appointed then-Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy created by the resignation of Sen. Al Franken. The opening in the office of lieutenant governor created an unusual situation with a Republican (then-State Sen. Michelle Fischbach) being elevated to serve under a DFL governor. Controversy ensued when Fischbach chose to maintain her Senate seat until the end of the legislative session.
Minnesota’s VP club
If Walz is elected as vice president, he would be the third Minnesotan to serve in that office, after Hubert H. Humphrey, who was VP under President Lyndon Johnson from 1965 to 1969, and Walter Mondale, who served from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. Like Walz, Humphrey and Mondale were Democrats.