How Tim Walz went from 'Blue Dog Democrat' to progressive champion

ST. PAUL — On the opening day of Minnesota's legislative session this year, Gov. Tim Walz rushed between chambers wielding a spatula and a tray of cinnamon-spiced apple dessert bars.

“It’s a gesture of friendship to start this session off,” Walz said to the press before handing Republican and Democratic lawmakers apple blondies.

Walz started this tradition after he was elected in 2018 when there was split control at the statehouse. Back then he had to find compromise between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House.

That first term as governor was reminiscent of his time in Congress, when he was seen as a moderate. But his reputation changed after he was reelected as governor in 2022 along with full Democratic control of state government, ushering in a series of progressive priorities over the next years.

“He does very minimal to reach across the aisle,” Minnesota Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said about Walz. “As leader, over the last two years, there was very little that I had an opportunity to work with him.”

With nearly two decades of time in elected office, Walz has evolved from straddling partisan divides to championing progressive priorities.

He defeated longtime Republican Congressman Gil Gutknect when he first ran for Congress in 2006 and was seen as a moderate “Blue Dog” Democrat. In one major example, he broke with most Democrats in 2008 when he opposed the $700 billion bank bailout, called Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Walz had an “A rating” from the National Rifle Association while serving in Congress; he was later downgraded to an “F” for supporting firearm restrictions.

But over the last legislative sessions, Walz signed several progressive proposals without much