Minnesota could get a new governor if Tim Walz is elected vice president on Tuesday.
Here’s what would happen in Minnesota if Gov. Tim Walz is elected vice president on Tuesday
If Walz is elected to the White House, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would succeed him and become Minnesota’s first female and first Native American governor.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 1, 2024 at 6:54PM
The election of Walz and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris would have a significant ripple effect in Minnesota. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would succeed Walz if the DFL governor vacated his office, according to the state Constitution, which clearly lays out the line of succession.
That would mark a major milestone as Flanagan would become Minnesota’s first female and first Native American governor. Flanagan has said she’d be honored to serve as governor and that she’s well-prepared to after six years of working as a partner to Walz.
“For all second-in-commands, your number one role is to be ready,” Flanagan said in August after Walz joined the presidential ticket. “And I take that seriously.”
The last presiding officer of the Minnesota Senate, DFL Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, would then fill the role of lieutenant governor. His ascension would also be historic: Champion would be the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
“We know there has never been a woman governor in Minnesota, and aren’t aware of any Black individuals serving at lieutenant governor,” a representative from the Legislative Reference Library said in an email.
![Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-59) shakes hands as he enters the house chambers before the start of the State of the State address Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in the house chambers of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. ] AARON LAVINSKY • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/CE7PRPTR33STS4L3CI3Z65P6U4.jpg?&w=712)
There is little precedent for such a shakeup in the governor’s office. The closest example occurred in 2018, when DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appointed his lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, to fill the U.S. Senate seat that became vacant after Al Franken’s resignation.
Then-Senate President Michelle Fischbach, a Republican, became Dayton’s lieutenant governor for a brief stint.
If Champion became lieutenant governor, a special election would be held to fill his safely blue Minneapolis Senate seat.
The Minnesota Senate is currently deadlocked 33-33. Control of the chamber will be up for grabs on Tuesday via a single special election to fill former DFL Sen. Kelly Morrison’s west-metro seat. Morrison vacated her seat to run for Congress.
Paul Wikstrom, the GOP candidate for House District 40B, is contesting his election loss, claiming Democrat Curtis Johnson doesn’t live in the district.
