
Tim Walz Looks Into the Void
Tim Walz and I were sitting down for breakfast earlier this month at a Courtyard by Marriott in Independence, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. Walz, who was Kamala Harris's running mate last year, is still the governor of a state that happens not to be Ohio—or West Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, or Texas, all of which he had visited recently.
This was a bit curious, especially because it is not a presidential-election year. His three-day tour of northeastern Ohio included labor roundtables, impromptu roadside stops, and two town-hall meetings. What was he up to exactly?
Like Democrats in general, the two-term Minnesota governor is still trying to process the insanity of last summer and fall, the earthquake of Election Night 2024, and the horrors that have spiraled out since then. Also, like Democrats in general, he isn't sure how best to counter the daily onslaught of the second Donald Trump administration. Walz seems to be figuring things out as he goes, but at the very least feels itchy to help jump-start the second Donald Trump resistance.
Walz is a big breakfast guy. It gets him jump-started. He ordered his standard morning bowl of oatmeal with a sliced banana. Walz is also a big metaphor guy. For instance, he refers to his delirious vice-presidential campaign as his '90-day Eras Tour.' It is a good line, but an imperfect metaphor. Taylor Swift's Era's Tour reinforced her rolling dominance; Walz's ended abruptly—and badly.
'I own it,' Walz told me, referring to the inevitable critiques that have followed his and Harris's defeat. He swigged from a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew, the first of four he consumes on an average day.
Mark Leibovich: Tim Walz is too good at this
I had a vague memory of Walz's affinity for the phosphorescent soda. It was part of the populist persona that he debuted on the national stage after Joe Biden's candidacy imploded in July, and that helped endear Walz to Harris. Walz, as her running mate, was that plainspoken lover of hunting, coacher of football, changer of air filters, wearer of camo. He was briefly the prototype hero for all of those 'White Dudes for Kamala' (they had T-shirts!).
I also had a vague memory of Walz briefly becoming a Democratic sensation last summer, even though that now feels like last century. But despite his star turn in July and August—the viral cable interviews, the killer convention speech—Walz virtually disappeared after Labor Day, except for a not-great debate performance against J. D. Vance.
To a certain degree, Walz's recent travels represent a return to the national political scene. I was curious to see how he would be received. It's not as if anyone senses a great public clamor for Tim Walz less than six months since Election Night. He seems a less than likely—and less than ideal—candidate to lead Democrats through their desperate straits. He often acknowledges this himself, as he did at a town hall in Youngstown.
'Probably the last guy' who should be telling the party what to do, he said, 'is the guy who got his ass kicked in the last election.'
Audiences laugh at this, always. Political self-depreciation is a winner, especially in this period of abundant gallows humor.
But here is the notable part: A lot of people are showing up to see Tim Walz. The crowd at Youngstown's DeYor Performing Arts Center was loud and boisterous—about 2,800 people, including a packed overflow room. They lined up on a snowy Monday, the same night as the NCAA men's basketball title game. Walz drew another 2,000 people (with overflow room) to a large high-school auditorium in Lorain, Ohio, the next night.
'Something is definitely happening,' Walz told me a few hours before the Youngstown town hall, during a stop for lunch across the border in Wheeling, West Virginia. By 'something,' he meant a great and building frustration among people who are horrified not just by what Trump is doing but also by the lack of response from the putative leaders of the Democratic Party.
No one at these events seemed to view Walz per se as the Democrats' savior, though I sensed nothing but goodwill for him. More than anything, he was a vehicle for them, someone to give voice to their anger. He had heard a 'primal scream from America,' Walz said in Youngstown, the line that drew probably the loudest cheers of the night. 'When people on the streets were saying, 'My God, elected Democrats, do something!''
There have been stirrings of late. 'Cory Booker stood there for 25 hours,' Walz said in Youngstown, referring to the senator from New Jersey's record-long floor speech the previous week. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have embarked on a nationwide 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour that is drawing crowds sometimes in the tens of thousands to places such as Missoula, Montana, and Nampa, Idaho. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts attracted a few thousand people at a recent rally in Austin and about 1,500 in Nashville. And Governor Gavin Newsom of California started a podcast last month; two of his first guests were staunch MAGA luminaries, Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Another was Walz.
'I'm kind of wondering where I fall on the list of guests,' Walz told Newsom after he was introduced. Walz praised his fellow governor for 'doing something to try and fill a void that's out there, and hopefully trying to use it as a platform to articulate our values to a broader audience.' He added, 'We've not figured this out yet.'
Walz talks a lot about this void. About a month ago, he set out to be part of the Democratic effort to fill it. He said he was appalled by the unwillingness of many Republican House members to hold town-hall meetings after agitated constituents started showing up to them. In March, Walz became one of a handful of Democrats who decided to host their own events in districts where Republicans had been refusing to. This would also be a chance for Walz to figure out a few things of his own, a version of the 'where I fall on the list of guests' question. He wanted to see if there was any audience for someone like himself.
Walz's town halls are cathartic and fascinating spectacles—equal parts group therapy, strategy brainstorm, and gripe session. Walz is constantly spitting out fun facts and skips from topic to topic. He sometimes appears to be processing aloud as he speaks. One hobbyhorse is how Democrats need to communicate their message in simpler, real-life language. Walz affects a serious, highfalutin voice. 'You hear Democrats say this, 'We really need to address food insecurity,'' he said in Youngstown. 'What we really need to do is make sure people aren't hungry. And just talk about that.' (Oligarch is another bad term, Walz says, as opposed to greedy billionaires.)
Walz is a good storyteller, and nails his applause lines. But he couches the current state of things as scary and getting more so. 'The road to totalitarianism is people telling other people they're overreacting,' Walz said in Youngstown. He throws around phrases such as 'constitutional crisis' and 'the world melting down around us.' He mentions that the White House is not far from jailing its political enemies.
Adam Serwer: The constitutional crisis is here
Walz offers the power of citizen engagement as the Democrats' ultimate weapon. 'One man should not be able to destroy the global economy,' he said in the crescendo of his speech in Youngstown. He said that Congress isn't doing its job to check Trump, and now Trump is defying the courts. 'So, I got to tell you,' he said, 'this is what you call a constitutional crisis.' The crowd went nuts—presumably because they agree, not because they like constitutional crises.
'But there is one final fail-safe. That's the people,' Walz said. 'The people,' he said again, over the building applause. 'The people are going to solve this.'
About that 'running for something' question: Everything about Walz's three days in Ohio resembled a well-advanced campaign trip. He had an entourage of about a dozen people, including security, traveling staff, local officials, and press; he does not have a political PAC, according to his staff, and he worked with local Democratic organizations to set up the events. He held big ones, smaller forums and meetings, media scrums, and meandering retail stops.
'We're going to eat fish sandwiches!' Walz announced upon his arrival at Coleman's Fish Market, in downtown Wheeling. He greeted employees, visited a few tables, and posed for photos. Someone recommended that he try a cup of the alligator soup. It is one of the fish shop's most popular items, even though alligators are not common in West Virginia—nor, for that matter, are they fish. Walz ordered some and immediately raved, in the way that politicians always rave about restaurant cuisine when cameras are present. 'It's like minestrone,' he said. 'You gotta try it.' (I did, and found it bland and watery.)
I sat at a wooden table across from Walz, who was joined by former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. Walz started telling me about how a day earlier, while stopping at a convenience store, he'd met a woman who raises emus. I heard him tell this story several more times over the next day and a half. These goofy and serendipitous encounters are part of what Walz loves about campaigning, or whatever it is that he's doing. He projects an obvious sense of missing being out on the trail, as if maybe he has his own void to fill.
'So, are you going to run for president?' I asked Walz over breakfast the next morning at the Courtyard in Independence.
'No, no,' he said.
He told me he will decide in a few months whether to seek a third term as governor; he is up for reelection next year. He briefly thought about running for an open Minnesota Senate seat in 2026 but decided not to. I tried the 'running for president' question a few more times. He gave me more 'no's, but at a certain point they started coming with equivocations—or I heard them as such.
'So, you're not running for president?' I asked.
'Nope.'
'Ever? Possibly? Maybe? Rule it out? All that?'
'My line always is: Don't ever turn down a job you haven't been offered,' Walz said, cryptically.
Mark Leibovich: Trump says he is serious about staying in office past 2028
Walz has obvious regrets and second-guesses about the last campaign. He agrees with those who wish that he and Harris had been less cautious. 'I'm a big believer in flooding the zone,' he told me. The candidates should have gone on Joe Rogan's podcast and talked with other Trump-friendly media outlets, he said. 'I'm like, fuck it,' Walz said. 'Just go.' If there is one lesson that Democrats can take from Trump, he said, it is to 'continually be present.'
As far as his own role, Walz clearly felt restrained and, to some degree, reduced to a one-dimensional prototype for those coveted 'White Dudes for Kamala' guys.
He is careful not to criticize the campaign directly, but not subtle in parroting the critiques of others. Walz volunteered that Bill Clinton had called him in early October. 'He said, 'Don't allow them to make you a caricature.'' (The 'them' here refers to Walz's own campaign higher-ups, not the Trump-Vance campaign.) 'You are a consequential governor,' Clinton told him, according to Walz. 'And that's what you should be running on.'
I asked Walz if he'd ever pushed back against the campaign's decisions. He said that he offered suggestions, but did not want to create problems. Yet he wishes he could have done more interviews, showed a less canned version of himself, and been more freewheeling.
'Why didn't they have me do this shit, like we did yesterday?' Walz wondered aloud, a bit wistfully, referring to his encounter with the emu lady, which he'd just excitedly finished talking about (again). 'Solid, for 100 days, just that?'
Near the end of our breakfast, Walz veered into another campaign story. He was doing a photo line at an event in California, and who should come roaring through but Katy Perry. 'And for five minutes, she just chastised me about Diet Mountain Dew,' Walz said. 'I was like, 'You're scaring me, Katy.'' Perry's persistence didn't work—Walz still guzzles the stuff with gusto—but at least this was another cherished vignette from the campaign trail that he seems to crave more of.
After Walz finished his speech in Youngstown, he thanked everyone, waved, pointed, and lingered onstage. He had a big, almost euphoric smile on his face that went beyond the usual politician's perma-grin. It felt at odds with the darkness of the Democrats' predicament. He was relishing the moment.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes budget giving Browns $600 million, tax cut to wealthy, more public school money
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) The Ohio Senate has passed a $60 billion state biennial operating budget, which includes a tax cut for the wealthy, some increased public education funding, and $600 million in funding to the Cleveland Browns for their new stadium. The total budget is expected to be around $200 billion once federal dollars come in. Ohio House Bill 96 was voted on mainly along party lines, 23-10. State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, joined the Democrats to vote no. The senators increased the amount of money going to public schools from the Ohio House's proposal. The Senate budget gives public schools about $100 million more than the House. Although they follow most of the Ohio House's proposed budget, which only gives schools about $226 million of an increase for school funding, the Senate changed the funding 'guarantee' amount. Right now, some districts have guarantees that a portion of their funding will not be reduced, even if their enrollment goes down This $100 million added back would only go to high-performing or 'improving' districts. However, to be fully funded based on statistics from the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) from 2021, schools would need an additional $666-800 million, compared to the $226 million given by the House. Still, the Senate's version is closer to the FSFP than the House's. 'We're following the funding scheme that was put together in the first place,' Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said. 'Our bill is the closest way to get there.' They also raised the House proposal's cap on districts' rainy day funds to 50%, instead of 30%. This would mean that the schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief. 'The priority is not, obviously, in fully funding education, investing in our children and our future,' Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said. The Senate's budget proposal still includes $600 million for a new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park. However, the funding structure differs from what the Browns proposed and what the House approved earlier this year. The House proposed borrowing $600 million by issuing bonds and repaying the debt, with interest, over 25 years, at a cost of about $1 billion. The Senate is proposing a $600 million grant for the stadium using unclaimed funds. That's other people's money that the state is holding, from things like forgotten bank accounts, rent, or utility deposits or uncashed insurance policies. The Ohio Department of Commerce's website states the state is sitting on $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. Asked about the possibility of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoing that provision, Cirino noted that DeWine said publicly he did not like the debt arrangement of the House for the $600 million. DeWine himself had proposed raising gambling taxes. 'I'm pretty confident and feel good that the governor and the House will look at our approach to it,' Cirino said. Ohio Democratic lawmakers remain staunchly opposed to the project. 'If they could find that money for the Browns and their stadium's move to Brook Park, why didn't they decide to use those funds for the schools?' Antonio asked. The budget also includes a 2.75% flat income tax. There are three income tax brackets in Ohio. Those making up to $26,000 do not need to pay state income tax. Ohioans earning between $26,000 and $100,000 pay a tax of 2.75%. Those making more than $100,000 have to pay 3.5%. State data reveals that this flat tax could result in a loss of about $1.1 billion in the General Revenue Fund. 'The dollars that we're foregoing in the flat tax are already incorporated into our overall spending,' Cirino said. Funding for schools, Medicaid, libraries, lead abatement, food banks, and child care face funding decreases from the current status or from the governor's budget. Asked about these cuts these cuts to social services for lower-income people while giving a tax cut to the state's highest earners, Cirino said Republicans think it's going to be good for the economy. 'It's going to be good for attracting people,' Cirino responded. Antonio disagreed. 'It's a gift to the wealthiest among us on the backs of the poorest and lowest-income and middle-class folks in the state of Ohio,' she said. Senate Republicans propose giving $20,000 to top high school students to encourage them to stay in the state for their higher education. The Governor's Merit Scholarship was passed in the House budget. Already existing, the House language would extend the proposal that gives the top 5% of each graduating high school class $5,000 a year to attend a public or private school in Ohio. But the Senate version reduces the scholarship to the top 2% of students. The money would also have strings attached. The scholarship recipients would be required to reside in Ohio for three years after graduation. There would be an 'expectation' that the money would be returned if they leave within the three years. Now, the Senate and House leaders will enter a conference committee, a closed-door negotiation period to create a final budget. Once a decision is made, both chambers must pass the combined bill. If it passes through both sides, it will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for review. In the past, he issued dozens of line-item vetoes on operating budgets. Line-item vetoing is the ability for the governor to pick and choose which policies within a larger piece of legislation get to stay or must go. The deadline for the budget to be passed is July 1. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Newsom speech taking on Trump encourages Democrats looking for a leader
California Gov. Gavin Newsom won praise on Wednesday for his speech Tuesday night seen by a national audience, something many Democrats saw as a shot across the bow to President Donald Trump that they can fight Trump -- and one that sparked new talk of Newsom as the party's standard-bearer in 2028. "The rule of law has increasingly given way to the rule of Don," he said, blasting Trump for sending the military to quell protests in Los Angeles. "The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment. It's time for all of us to stand up," Newsom said in his eight-minute highly produced remarks, flanked by the California and U.S. flags. Newsom's message to Californians -- and Americans listening -- was politically sobering, arguing that "Democracy is under assault before our eyes. The moment we've feared has arrived." "What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him," he urged what might have been millions of viewers watching on cable news channels. MORE: Protests live updates: At least 5 criminal cases related to LA protests, DA says His rhetoric directly calling out Trump comes as Democrats are hungry for a leader to unite them as they try to rebuild from 2024 and other party losses. "We want somebody to fight, and so he's been fighting, and it's been glorious to watch," RL Miller, an environmental activist and Democratic National Committee superdelegate, told ABC News. Miller thinks Democrats have spent too much time "navel-gazing" since the November election, wasting time and resources rather than looking forward. "Newsom is going to be vaulting back into that top tier of presidential candidates with this," she said. His speech was just the latest in Newsom's verbal combat with the Trump administration. Earlier in the week, he challenged Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, after he suggested that anyone who blocked the administration's immigration crackdown should be apprehended, even Newsom, a comment he later walked back but Trump endorsed. "Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get this over with, tough guy," Newsom told NBC News. "That's the energy we need in this moment," Democratic National Committee spokesperson Hannah Muldavian said of Newsom during the party's new daily YouTube show. Other national Democrats echoed that praise. In a joint news conference Wednesday morning, top party brass, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw their support behind Newsom's new war with Trump. "All I add is President Trump is trying to intimidate Gavin Newsom," Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "He has shown he's not going to be intimidated, and we're all for that, all for him and proud that he is refusing to be intimidated by Donald Trump." Newsom's PAC, Campaign for Democracy, sent out fundraising texts asking supporters to donate to help Newsom "continue to fight back against the attacks and threats from the Trump administration." Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist who worked with former California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Newsom with asserting authentic leadership for Democrats who have been "leaderless all year" and likely quite eager to see such a high-profile official "fighting back" to Trump. "There's resistance that often seems contrived, but these circumstances have given him an essential, authentic resistance footing," said Stutzman. Still, it remains unclear if Newsom can win on immigration, one of Trump's central campaign issues and a top concern of many Americans. As a whole, Democrats have struggled to offer a singular message and response to Trump's actions. And the White House is continuously highlighting the unrest in California as a prime example of what is says is Newsom's poor record. Trump blasted the governor on his social media platform Monday, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have "failed their citizens." She said Newsom "owns" the images of violent protests. Newsom, who is term-limited and has not ruled out a 2028 presidential bid, isn't the only Democratic governor pitching themselves as tough on Trump. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently traveled to South Carolina to recap their record to voters, though both are adamant they are not running for the White House this time around. Even still, Newsom seems to rise above the pack. In fact, some operatives in Trump's orbit see Newsom transforming into the Democratic Party's long-sought leader. Former Trump political adviser Bannon told the New York Times that Newsom's address was "a kickoff to his 2028 campaign." Newsom speech taking on Trump encourages Democrats looking for a leader originally appeared on
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bill allowing anyone 18 or older to conceal carry passes NC House, headed to governor
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Despite two Republican lawmakers siding with Democrats in opposition, a bill allowing people as young as 18 to carry a gun without a permit in the state, is headed to the Governor's office. Republican sponsors of the bill say it only enshrines the right to carry a weapon to law-abiding citizens. Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba) said in defense of the bill, ' States have done this…we're close to 50% of the country…this is really not going to affect criminal behavior…this is going to benefit law abiding citizens.' Democrats opposed the bill, saying it'll only lead to more gun violence and put guns into the hands of teenagers who aren't old enough to understand the true dangers of guns. 'Studies have shown that permit-less concealed carry increases violence and death,' Rep. Phil Rubin (D-Wake) said. The final vote came after a second reading in which 54 voted in favor and 48 voted against. The bill now heads to Gov. Josh Stein's desk, where he can sign it into law or veto the bill. If Stein vetoes SB50, House Republicans would need every single Republican and one Democrat to vote to override that veto. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.