Tim Walz's liberal policy agenda hits 2024 presidential race
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rocketed to a spot on the Democratic presidential ticket with his cable news jabs at "weird" Republicans. Now that he's the VP nominee, his record as governor will come under partisan scrutiny.
Why it matters: Walz has signed a laundry list of progressive policies since becoming governor in 2019. He has also been criticized by Minnesota Republicans for his handling of the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
- Walz, who served multiple terms in the U.S. House, was singled out for a slow response to law enforcement's request for the National Guard's help in calming the anti-racism protests after they turned violent and destructive.
- "It was obvious to me that he froze under pressure, under a calamity, as people's properties were being burned down," Minnesota state Sen. Warren Limmer (R) told the N.Y. Times.
- Walz himself in 2020 called Minneapolis' response to the protests an "abject failure." A Walz spokesperson told the Times in 2024 that "Governor Walz took action and deployed the National Guard to keep our city safe."
Zoom in: As governor, Walz has backed a progressive agenda that includes...
- Signed a law ensuring 20 weeks of paid family and medical leave.
- Signed a law protecting abortion rights in Minnesota after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
- Signed a pair of "shield" laws protecting people, who travel to Minnesota to receive gender affirming care and abortions, from prosecution back home.
- Legalized recreational marijuana.
- Restored voting rights for 55,000 felons on probation.
- Pushed aggressive targets on climate change and renewable energy.
- Made Minnesota one of six states that provides universal free school lunches.
- Proposed an expansion of the child tax credit, billions in increases on some taxes and a plan to spend much of a $17.5 billion budget surplus for progressive priorities.
- Created a prescription drug affordability board.
- Signed a law making undocumented immigrants eligible for driver licenses.
What they're saying: The Trump campaign is calling Walz a "dangerously liberal extremist" in response to him being picked for VP.
- Democrats are pushing back on the GOP messaging on Walz.
- "Tim Walz I know very well. He served in the House. To characterize him as 'left' is so unreal," Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
- "My friend Governor Tim Walz will bring normality back to the most chaotic political environment that most of us have ever seen," Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.V.) said in a statement on Tuesday.
