Walz Offers Minnesota as a Liberal Escape From Trump

Walz Offers Minnesota as a Liberal Escape From Trump

Speaking in his home state after he and Vice President Kamala Harris lost this week, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota vowed to “stand ready to stand up and fight.”

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By Chris Cameron

Gov. Tim Walz, Democrat of Minnesota, addressed supporters in his state on Friday, vowing to protect Minnesota from the “most extreme elements” of a second Trump administration.

Mr. Walz, who as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate lost the election on Tuesday, rose to national prominence as governor for his progressive administration of Minnesota. He promoted his record in a 17-minute speech on Friday in Eagan, Minn., telling supporters that “we’re going to have to be ready to defend the progress that we made here in Minnesota.”

“The other side spent a lot of time campaigning and talking about and promising that they would leave things up to the states,” Walz said, referring to President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. “I’m willing to take them at their word for that. But the moment they try and bring a hateful agenda to this state, I’m going to stand ready to stand up and fight.”

In his remarks, Mr. Walz appeared to offer Minnesota as a liberal escape from conservative policies — on abortion, immigration, guns and climate change. “Minnesota always has and always will be there to provide shelter from the storm,” he said.

“As long as I’m governor of Minnesota,” Mr. Walz went on, “we’ll be a state that respects democracy, a place where we’re proud of our civic debate and where we don’t demonize people who disagree with us.”

Even as he repudiated aspects of Mr. Trump’s expected agenda, Mr. Walz also addressed the president-elect’s supporters in Minnesota and across the United States, saying that “there should be a place in our politics for everyone to be heard.”

“I think we ought to swallow — and this is me in this, as I’m speaking about myself — swallow a little bit of pride and look a little harder to find common ground with our neighbors who didn’t vote like we did in this election,” Mr. Walz said, adding, “Maybe when we get a little break from this campaign that we were in, we’ll be able to look at each other and see not enemies, but neighbors.”

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

The Presidential Race

• ‘Trump’s America’: Donald Trump’s comeback victory has established him as a transformational force reshaping the United States in his own image.
• How Trump Won: Trump gambled that his grievances would become the grievances of the MAGA movement, and then the G.O.P., and then more than half the country.
• Democrats Play the Blame Game: Lawmakers and strategists tried to explain Kamala Harris’s defeat, pointing to misinformation, the Gaza war, a toxic Democratic brand and the party’s approach to transgender issues.

Other Results

• Senate: With a decisive margin in the Senate, an emboldened Republican majority is ready to empower Trump.
• House: Republicans made early gains in their drive to maintain control of the House, though the fate of the majority remains unclear.
• South Texas: Trump’s biggest gains were along the Texas border, a Democratic stronghold where most voters are Hispanic. He won 12 of the region’s 14 counties, up from five in 2016.

More Coverage and Analysis

• Transgender Anxiety: For many transgender Americans, the experience of being invoked by political candidates as a symbol of absurdity or an object of disgust has taken a toll.
• Abortion Rights: In states like Arizona and Nevada, some voters split their tickets, supporting abortion rights measures while also backing Donald Trump.
• Trump’s Fiscal Agenda: Advisers to Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill are already looking at ways to scale back some of his more expensive ideas.