MINNEAPOLIS — Within hours of Tim Walz joining the Democratic ticket, the Trump campaign released a pointed attack on the two-term Minnesota governor, calling him a "West Coast wannabe" who "has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State."
Locally, top Minnesota Republicans also joined the chorus of criticism on Tuesday.
Although Walz won two statewide elections in 2018 and 2022 by comfortable margins, his Republican opponents have portrayed him and his current DFL governing coalition in the state legislature as too partisan.
"I think Democrats have been pushing this line that Walz represents sort of a moderate, or a middle position, which he clearly does not," Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann said. "He has been, in my memory, maybe the most divisive, partisan governor we've ever had. He has completely aligned with the far-left Democratic base in Minnesota."
State Sen. Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) said Walz is "probably the worst pick we could have seen from Vice President Kamala Harris."
"I've had a front-row seat to what Gov. Walz has done under one and two years of a Democratic trifecta," Coleman said. "When Senate Republicans held the majority, we forced Walz's hand to work across the aisle. And we've seen, when he doesn't have to, he simply won't. He's one of the most far-left governors in the nation."
Already, Walz has started to face attacks over his handling of the riots following George Floyd's murder, his administration's COVID response, and the Feeding our Future scandal, among other issues.
Yet Walz, a former Congressman who flipped Minnesota's rural 1st Congressional District blue in 2006, separately earned praise on Tuesday from more moderate conservative factions. The anti-Trump "Lincoln Project," for example, posted "Walz for the Win" shortly after his selection became public, and the Bulwark's Jill Lawrence wrote that Walz "makes perfect sense" as a "popular, plainspoken, moderate Midwestern governor."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi also pushed back against Republicans painting Walz as far-left, calling her former House colleague "right down the middle."
"To characterize him as left," Pelosi said on MSNBC, "is so unreal."
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- the last Republican to be elected statewide here -- also took a softer tone.
"Congratulations to Gov. Walz. This is a big honor, a big opportunity," Pawlenty said in an interview, "and it will be fun and interesting for people in Minnesota to watch this over the next 90 days."
Pawlenty said he will not vote for a Harris-Walz ticket, but he acknowledged that Walz is a "good fit" for the campaign.
"I don't agree with him politically, but he mirrors her philosophy and policy views," Pawlenty said. "He brings a different sort of style and cadence and tone. He can bring sort of a Midwestern vibe."
Pawlenty said he gets along well with Walz on a personal level, describing him as "friendly."
"I think the real issue here is, does the country want to double down on two candidates who are very liberal?" Pawlenty said. "I think that's going to be an interesting test in those swing states. That's not for me, I think it's not going to be for a lot of people in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio and Wisconsin, but we'll see."