As Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz has earned a reputation as a collaborative and collegial elected official eager to work with other state executives around the country. That includes Oregon.
Kate Brown pictured in 2023. As governor, Brown said she had a good relationship with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Walz, who on Tuesday was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, has built relationships with both Gov. Tina Kotek and former Gov. Kate Brown over the years.
“He is very charming, he is very nice, he is very – I hesitate to say this – folksy,” Brown told OPB in an interview Tuesday. “I just think he’s a breath of fresh air in this toxic political climate.”
Brown, who grew up in Minnesota, worked alongside Walz on a number of initiatives during her time in office. She was tapped to serve on a presidential Council of Governors that helped President Joe Biden’s administration address national security threats. Walz was the group’s co-chair.
Brown and Walz were also among a group of governors who pledged to protect voter access during the 2020 elections, in which many states altered election practices because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walz has served as Minnesota’s governor since 2019, and has helped usher in major policy changes in his state – particularly since his party captured both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature in the 2022 election. That includes policies very similar to some Brown signed into law as governor, like paid family leave, statutory abortion protections and expanded gun safety laws.
“There’s a saying about how an underground stream quietly makes the grass green,” Brown said. “Walz is just one of those guys. He’s not flashy. He’s a thoughtful, nice guy who gets shit done.”
In late 2023, Walz was named chair of the Democratic Governors Association, helping defend Democratic governors up for reelection and attempting to flip eight Republican-led states this year.
It’s a role that has put him into contact with Kotek, including during a recent meeting between Democratic governors and Biden, not long before the president abandoned his reelection bid.
A spokesperson for Kotek’s office declined to answer questions about her relationship with Walz on Tuesday, calling those questions a “campaign matter.” A spokesperson for Kotek’s political activities did not respond to questions.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, shown in this Nov. 1, 2023 file photo at Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minn., has worked with recent Oregon governors. Former Gov. Kate Brown described him as "folksy" but effective at getting things done.
Andrew Harnik / AP
Largely unheralded on the national stage, Walz has become prominent in recent weeks for calling former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, “weird.” The characterization is now a go-to attack line for Democrats.
Brown wasn’t sure how to feel about the framing until she heard Walz describe it in an interview.
“The ‘weird’ thing put me off,” she said. “I’ve been having ongoing conversations about it with families and friends. He’s not saying Republicans are weird. He’s saying that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are weird. He articulated the ‘why’ very well.”
Walz’ charm and lack of apparent ambition eventually had Brown convinced he would be tapped as the vice presidential nominee, she said — so much so that she put money on the line with a Minnesotan relative.
“I bet my uncle John, who’s in Eden Prairie, a dollar that Walz was going to get it,” she said. “He bet on [Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark] Kelly.”
As of Monday morning, Brown had yet to be paid.