Olson: Walz has a chance to refocus and reset

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It was a scene we weren’t sure we’d see again: Gov. Tim Walz serving tins of decadent dessert bars to members of the Minnesota House as a goodwill gesture on opening day.

“Minnesota is still a state where we can work across lines of difference to get things done,” the governor said on social media after his door dash to the House floor pre-session. “There’s no better way to kick that work off than with some bipartisan bars for our friends in the Legislature.”

Years ago, this governor had started a tradition of alighting outside the Senate and House chambers on the Legislature’s opening day with tins of sweets to welcome legislators back to the State Capitol and to set a neighborly tone. This year, he skipped the opening day delivery on Jan. 14 because the House was in disarray. DFLers had held their secret private swearing-in a day earlier and were boycotting the Capitol to deny Republicans a quorum.

The governor’s sweet delivery would have been welcomed in the Senate, where the tone was somber as colleagues conducted a heartfelt memorial for former Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, a Minneapolis DFLer who had died of ovarian cancer in December.

Walz himself has been in mourning for what could have become of his political career.

The governor spent four months mostly out of Minnesota last fall on his rocket ship ride as a vice-presidential candidate on the ticket with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

His return has thus far been rocky and scattered. He’s stiff-armed and punished Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan without public explanation, rescinding invitations to events, overseeing the departure of one of her top aides and stepping on her announcement of a U.S. Senate run by floating himself as a candidate. He’s kept the local news media at a distance with the exception of a few much-too-brief interviews. When he has appeared in public, reporters have been allowed limited time for questions. He hasn’t been engaged with the Legislature in the sort of relationship-building and tone-setting discussions that could set things up for a productive and collegial session.

I get it. I flew on Walz Force One (my nickname for the campaign’s branded charter jet) for a two-day swing through Pennsylvania. It was grinding but also glorious to experience that sort of rare air and abundance. Every passenger gets a cushy first-class seat with tons of elbow and leg room, no TSA lines or baggage limit, and you’re always cleared for takeoff.

Walz went from visions of life at the residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory, with the attendant perks, back to the Eastcliff on East River Road in St. Paul and the arctic chill of re-entry.

He was to return Wednesday night from a four-day trade mission to the Netherlands. He can continue to mourn last fall’s loss privately, but as a public figure and leader in the Democratic Party, he needs to show us what he’s got left for the final two years of his current term as the state’s chief executive, one of the plum positions in politics.

Let’s hope the governor’s sweets are a sign that he’s ready to move past the disappointment.

With a less-than-robust budget outlook for the state and with President Donald Trump’s unpredictability, we’ll need Walz to engage. That includes declaring both an agenda for the remainder of his current term and, at some point soon, his political plans.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith’s announcement last week that she won’t run in 2026 gave ambitious Minnesota politicians an opening, and many eagerly jumped into the contention for that rarely open seat.

Flanagan announced that she’s all-in for the Senate contest. Then Walz said he’s interested, but no one at the Capitol is buying it. So what will it be? Seek a third term as governor and try to boost his national profile, run for the Senate, or something else?

There are strong indications that Walz wants to stay on the national stage. He’s working on writing a book and developing a podcast. At breakneck speed, he endorsed his deputy chief of staff to lead the DFL Party after current state Chairman Ken Martin took the top position at the Democratic National Committee.

Let’s hope Walz realizes that running the state and raising his national profile aren’t mutually exclusive. He can do both if that’s what he wants, but Minnesotans deserve a governor who is open about his goals.

When he campaigned for governor, Walz touted his rural roots, saying he’d work as a uniter, preaching the concept of “One Minnesota,” a united state working for the good of the urban and rural. We haven’t heard much about that lately. Is he still hopeful about the “One Minnesota” agenda he’s used in the past, or is that a dream deferred? Give us a clue.

I started covering Minnesota politics in 1996, arriving for the final two years of then-Gov. Arne Carlson’s second term. Carlson was ostensibly a lame duck who wasn’t seeking a third term. Far from being checked out, he kept swinging as he successfully fought for tax credits for private school expenses and state aid to renovate the hockey arena at Xcel Energy Center.

Walz fought hard to win a second term, and as he himself is fond of saying, “You don’t win elections to bank political capital, you win elections to burn capital and improve lives.”

Shake off that postelection malaise, Governor, and show us what you’ve got.