While Noem shot a dog, goat and herself in the foot, Tim Walz has been a smart and effective governor for Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is on the short list of possible running mates for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. His use of the term “weird” to accurately describe former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and their bizarre batch of supporters has caught on nationally.

The vice president is riding a wave of popularity and acclaim after her entry into the presidential campaign. President Joe Biden was finally persuaded to step aside as polls showed his support declining amid concerns about his age and ability to serve four more years.

Vice President Harris has closed the gap in polls with former President Donald Trump and has benefitted from a surge in interest and activity among Democrats. She has energized women, younger voters, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

The next big moment will be when she selects a running mate. There are many possible candidates, including Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona — and Walz. His ascension in recent days has been surprising,  but it shouldn’t be. Walz is a smart man who has proven to be an effective governor.

I met Walz in 2003 when I was an editor at The Mankato Free Press in Minnesota.

He was a social studies teacher at Mankato West High School who also coached football. Walz (seen above in a public domain photo posted on wikimedia commons) served 24 years in the Army National Guard and was a well-known local figure.

Our paths first crossed at the newspaper office when Walz came to see us to express his outrage over how one of his students had been treated at a rally held for President George W. Bush.

It was Aug. 4, 2004, and Bush was in a tight race with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate. Traditionally liberal Minnesota was seen as a potential win for Bush, so he spoke at a stone quarry on the edge of Mankato, drawing a huge crowd.

Walz was with a pair of students, and they were thoroughly searched. One kid had a liberal sticker or something deemed objectionable in his wallet and was told he would not be allowed to enter. Both students left.

Walz stayed to listen, and he grew madder by the minute thinking about what had happened. A plan formed in his mind.

I spent time with him at a LGBQT event in Mankato I was covering in the summer of 2004. I just ran into him as he was strolling around, and we walked and talked for a half hour or so.

Walz came across in person as smart, ambitious and aware of the challenges he faced. He is chunky, balding and not a charismatic figure, but he is honest, funny and open. I walked away thinking he had a future in politics.

Walz challenged Minnesota 1st District Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht in 2006 and knocked off the six-term incumbent, who had vowed to retire after 12 years in Congress. Gutknecht changed his mind — what a shock! — but voters remembered and sent him into retirement.

On Election Night, Walz vowed to work for all people in his district, the state and nation.

“We have an opportunity now to lead this country in the direction it needs to go, leaving behind the divisive partisan politics,” he said. “We need to start seeing our neighbors not as Democratic neighbors, Republican neighbors. They’re our neighbors, they’re Americans. This country can do better. We start tomorrow.”

Walz ended up serving six terms in Congress, being in the House with Kristi Noem for her entire eight years there. Both were elected governor in 2018, and won second terms in 2022.

While South Dakota and Minnesota are neighbors, their politics have long been far apart. We have always been very Republican, and now have become one of the reddest states in the nation.

Minnesota has leaned Democratic for most of the last half century, led by the success and influence of South Dakota native Hubert Humphrey, who moved to Minnesota as a young man. He became mayor of Minneapolis, served five terms as a United States senator in two stretches, was vice president from 1965-68 and ran for president in 1960, 1968 and 1972.

Walz was known as a congressman who worked well with Republicans. As governor, he has leaned a bit more to the left, while also retaining his populist nature and displaying an ability to work with Republicans in St. Paul on issues like providing enough nursing homes for Minnesotans.

Gov. Noem could take a lesson there.

At the same time, however, he has stood by his basic beliefs, including supporting a woman’s right to choose for herself, as he posted on X on Thursday, Dec. 14.

“Minnesota will continue to be a beacon of reproductive freedom,” Walz wrote. “I stand ready to ensure Minnesotans can get the care they need, and I will continue to deliver on my promise to protect your rights — not take them away.”

Noem, of course, has taken the exact opposite position.

Walz also has been willing to take a few shots at his conservative neighbors — Noem and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

In a Dec. 7 interview on CNN, he contrasted how Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa operate.

“I’m surrounded by states who are spending their time figuring out how to ban ‘Charlotte’s Web’ in their schools while we’re banishing hunger from ours with free breakfast and lunch,” Walz said.

He amplified it on X: “We’re not banning books; we’re banishing hunger. It’s that simple.”

On Dec. 11, Walz said he also wanted to make sure people in his cold-weather state stay safe and warm in the winter.

“As we continue working to lower costs and make life easier for Minnesotans, I’m proud our Energy Assistance Program can provide families with up to $1,400 — helping renters and homeowners afford their utility bills,” he posted on X.

Contrast that with Noem turning down a chance to obtain $7.5 million to help feed hungry kids during the summer, according to a South Dakota News Watch report. The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer would have helped an estimated 63,000 South Dakota children receive healthy food during summer 2023 — at a time when estimates were 25,000 kids did not have access to healthy food.

Kristi Noem flamed out in her campaign to become Donald Trump’s running mate. She set herself on fire with her bizarre admissions of killing a dog and a goat, and her lies about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un. It was an incredible act of self-immolation.

Walz, meanwhile, has raised his national profile by being a smart, effective, caring governor. That seems like a better and wiser path to success.

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Republish with permission.