Gov. Walz reflects on family impact of presidential campaign
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is turning his full focus back to his home state after coming up short as the vice presidential candidate.
FOX 9 sat down with the governor for his first one-on-one interview since the 2024 presidential election in November.
New approach?
Gov. Walz said he won’t really change his approach to a legislature with divided power coming up in January.
He said leaders in both parties are "serious people" and he hopes they can work together, especially on dealing with Minnesota's budget.
The state is in the black for now, but projections show it headed for a $5.1 billion deficit four years down the road.
Still, the campaign convinced Walz the state is in good shape.
‘Minnesota is good’
"What I've learned out there is that things are pretty good in Minnesota," Walz told FOX 9. "There's a lot of things that work really well here, and I think our politics is still one of those. I don't think we have fractured to the point where we look like D.C. in some of this, and I'm going to do all I can to try and help make that work."
The governor said he’s proud of the campaign they ran and the work he did.
He said it’s not his place to say whether Vice President Kamala Harris picked the wrong person as her running mate.
But he admitted there may be things they could’ve done differently, although at the moment he liked the playbook. And now, he’s looking forward instead of backwards.
Walz family impact
On a personal level, the loss was clearly hard on the entire Walz family, but they seem to be hopeful for the future.
And as a father, the campaign may have ended with Governor Walz prouder than ever of his kids.
Social media may tell us exactly how Tim Walz ended up on the ticket alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
#BigDadEnergy
"Big Dad Energy," he said, reading from a collection of social media posts imagining his fatherly behavior. "Tim Walz parked the car in the shade was a little further away because a little bit of walking is good for you, and you won't roast when you get back. 100%. And you also do not get door dings."
"Not only does Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sing the National Anthem louder than nearly everyone else at the hockey arena, he also drives the Zamboni between periods when the regular guy calls in sick," he read from another post.
"Big Dad Energy. If asked, I would do that. I will say that I have never been asked, but I would do that."
Big Dad Energy resonated throughout the governor’s 92 days on the campaign trail.
"I think that idea of helping out, the idea of being a neighbor, the idea of sharing those backyards or whatever it was, it's authentic," Walz said. "And when people were picking up on that, I think that's something I felt good in the campaign because I would hear it."
Walz kids and campaign
Governor Walz had a proud dad moment when his kids, Gus and Hope, sang and danced with him to Springsteen at the Democratic National Convention.
And the country saw Gus’ pride in the viral "That’s my Dad" moment.
Gus was newly 18 years old and went to vote for the first time alongside his parents.
Hope’s a few years older and spent a lot of time campaigning with them.
"Having Hope there and just being really grounded, both being a dad and someone who was really helpful for me because she was connecting to a generation that’s important for the country's future, important politically to understand where they're at, to hear them out," he said. "And I think she is providing a nice voice for that."
Hope finds her voice
Hope Walz processed the loss in real time on social media, admitting to some anger, then finding hope, and eventually getting to content separated almost completely from politics.
A recent TikTok post about her Subaru and the windshield wipers she knows how to replace may have been her father’s idea.
Cars are often part of the conversation when there’s Big Dad Energy.
"She knows when she calls me, I'm going to ask her if she's changed the oil," said her dad.
The governor and Gwen Walz have watched along as hundreds of thousands of people let Hope lead them through their own emotions.
And a proud father hopes her campaign succeeds where his did not.
"It wasn't that long ago that having a different political opinion wasn't a reason for people to be super angry or to come onto your site and say things about that," the governor said. "And I think she's trying to figure out how to get back a little more towards that."