As Gov. Walz campaigns across the country, how much time is he spending governing Minnesota?

Gov. Tim Walz has been campaigning nationwide since being elevated to the presidential ticket. The governor’s spokeswoman said “our office is still running as it always has — core functions haven’t changed.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 5, 2024 at 11:00AM
Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a rally on the Erie waterfront in front of around 2000 supporters Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 Erie, Pa. (Glen Stubbe)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been campaigning almost nonstop since Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate, leaving little time for him to spend at home governing.

The daily schedule published by the governor’s office has become repetitive since Walz was elevated to the presidential ticket Aug. 6: Governor Tim Walz has no public events scheduled,” the schedule has said every day but two. On Aug. 12 and Aug. 26, Walz interviewed candidates for judicial vacancies.

Walz was back in Minnesota on Sunday for a brief visit to the State Fair. He told reporters he’s leaned on his team to help manage his schedule and balance his duties as governor with his campaign activities.

“We appointed three great judges last week in Ramsey County,” Walz said at the fair. He added that his team updates him throughout the day, and he goes over memos and speaks with commissioners every night.

The governor’s chief of staff, Chris Schmitter, and communications director Teddy Tschann have also joined the Harris-Walz campaign. Schmitter continues to work limited hours with the state, “ensuring the governor always has the latest information from our office and Cabinet,” said Claire Lancaster, the governor’s spokeswoman.

Lancaster said in a statement that “our office is still running as it always has — core functions haven’t changed.”

“The governor is still meeting with staff, interviewing judges and making decisions,” Lancaster said. “Our Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Carlbom has taken over day-to-day management of the office and Anne O’Connor continues to lead the Cabinet.”

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Walz’s second-in-command, would become governor if he is elected to the White House in November. She said in an interview last week that she’s in frequent contact with Walz while he’s on the campaign trail. Even when he isn’t in Minnesota, Flanagan said, Walz is making major decisions and steering the state.

In Walz’s absence, Flanagan has taken on more public-facing roles, such as ribbon-cuttings and greeting students on the first day of school this week.

Walz missed an August meeting of the state Board of Investment, which he usually chairs. Protesters showed up to the meeting and demanded the state divest from Israeli bonds and weapons makers.

The governor has some unfinished business. He still hasn’t named a permanent director for the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, which will oversee the recreational marijuana industry. Dispensaries are expected to open in Minnesota in 2025.

It’s been almost a year since Walz’s first pick for the director job, cannabis entrepreneur Erin DuPree, resigned one day after she was appointed amid reports she sold illegal products at her hemp store. Charlene Briner, a state government veteran, has been leading the office on an interim basis for more than a year now.

At the State Fair last week, Flanagan told the Star Tribune that Briner is “doing an incredible job” and “we want to make sure that we pick the right person.”

“That team over there, I think, is doing a good job. We have rolled out lots of things while she’s been in leadership, so just stay tuned,” Flanagan said.

Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said in a recent interview that she and her fellow Republicans “will absolutely be watching how much [Walz] has been in the state and is doing his responsibilities as governor.”

“Gov. Walz has not communicated any difference in his leading our state with me as one of the caucus leaders,” Demuth said. “So, my expectation is he is still fully leading this state.”

Josie Albertson-Grove and Briana Bierschbach contributed to this story.

about the writer

Ryan Faircloth

Politics and government reporter

Ryan Faircloth covers Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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