Gov. Tim Walz endorses Richard Carlbom as next DFL Party chair

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is throwing his support behind a longtime behind-the-scenes political operative, and the architect of the state’s same-sex marriage law, to be the state’s next DFL Party chair.

Walz is endorsing Richard Carlbom, who works in his office as a deputy chief of staff, to take over as head of the party as Democrats regroup, locally and nationally, following bruising losses in 2024.

“I relish the idea that I get to fire up Democrats and rally the troops to the cause and doing what we can to protect Minnesotans from Donald Trump,” said Carlbom, who is best known for leading Minnesotans United for All Families, the campaign that opposed a 2012 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota.

The effort was successful, with Minnesota becoming the first state to reject such a ban. Months later, the group and Carlbom were the lobbying force behind passing a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

[More: Minnesota DFL’s Ken Martin elected national Democratic Party chair on first ballot.]

“His work on the marriage campaign, I would argue, nationally shifted the debate on marriage to one about human rights and love. That was Richard,” Walz said. “It’s one thing to talk about it and it’s another thing to execute it and win. This is still a template for how we talk about other things like economic issues.”

Outgoing DFL Party Chair Ken Martin was chosen Saturday to lead the Democratic National Committee, opening the party chair position for the first time in nearly 15 years.

Others are considering a run for the job, including Alana Petersen, who has worked on the campaigns and in the offices of U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and former Sen. Al Franken, and as director of field operations for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar.

Ron Harris, a DNC member who worked as the state campaign director for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign last fall, is also seeking the job. He said he has the experience to lead the party.

“Right now, it looks like there’s just one candidate in the race, and I think that there should be some sort of a contest,” said Harris, following Walz’s announcement.

Even though Walz has decided to back Carlbom, Harris said the governor’s endorsement won’t seal off the field of candidates.

“I think there will be more candidates who get into this. This is the first time in 14 years that there’s an open race for chair,” Harris said. “We have a lot of ideologies in our party. Richard will not be the only person in there.”

Minnesota DNC member Latonya Reeves, who was also at the DNC meeting in Washington, said that Harris “would be in the best position” for DFL chair and that she plans to support him.

“Ron has really operated on the premise of getting people out to vote,” Reeves said. “We need to bring people in, especially people of color because in Minnesota, we are losing people of color in the Democratic Party.”

Carlbom’s work has been largely behind the scenes. He was director of state campaigns for the New York-based Freedom to Marry, which raised funds and worked on legal strategies for same-sex marriage drives nationwide, and ran his own consulting firm, United Strategies, for a decade.

He was previously communications director for former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and worked for former U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips. He also worked on Walz’s successful 2008 and 2010 congressional reelection campaigns.

Carlbom was elected mayor of St. Joseph, Minn., in 2004, shortly after he graduated from nearby St. John’s University.

“Being a small town guy, he comes from that world and he knows you’ve got to talk like people talk or you’re not going to win,” Walz said.

Carlbom said his first job out of college was as a full-time field organizer for the DFL. He said the party needs to build on its success in legislative races in regional centers to win other seats near cities such as St. Cloud and Rochester.

“We can use that foothold we have in regional centers and build out from there,” said Carlbom, who also wants to boost programs to campaign in apartment buildings in the Twin Cities and drive up turnout for statewide races.

Carlbom is running with the current DFL leadership team, including the party’s vice chairs and secretary.

Martin, who took over in 2011, is the party’s longest serving chair and led Democrats to a string of victories in the governor’s office. Democrats haven’t lost a statewide race in Minnesota since 2010 and have held complete control of the Legislature twice during that time period.

But the Legislature now is narrowly divided between the two parties after Republicans made gains last fall. All lawmakers are on the ballot in 2026, as well as governor and Minnesota’s other three statewide offices.

Carlbom said he’d build on Martin’s success in fundraising, keep the party’s diverse coalition on the same page and organize with the goal of returning another governing trifecta — both houses and the governor’s office — to Democrats.

“I got to see that first hand when we saw so many good pieces of policy come to fruition,” he said. “None of that is possible without a strong state party.”