Who Will Replace Tim Walz as Minnesota Governor if Kamala Harris Wins?

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz could be headed to the White House after next week’s election. So, what does that mean for the North Star State?

While some states have so-called “resign-to-run” laws that require officeholders to step down from their seats to run for another office, Minnesota does not, which is why Walz is still governor.

However, if Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris win the 2024 election, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan would be elevated to governor, according to the state constitution. Walz could resign at any point between the election and the inauguration on January 20, 2025.

Flanagan’s ascension would make her the state’s first female governor and the nation’s first female Native American governor. The lieutenant governor, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is already the country’s highest-ranking Native American woman elected to an executive office.

If elected, Walz would not be the first governor to become the vice president of the United States. Mike Pence is the most recent vice president with gubernatorial experience, having been the governor of Indiana when he and Donald Trump were elected to the White House in 2016.

Pence had been up for reelection that year. He was succeeded by Eric Holcombe, who was sworn in a week and a half before the presidential inauguration.

Before Pence, the last governor elected as vice president was Nelson Rockefeller, who led the state of New York when Gerald Ford nominated him in 1974. Ford assumed the presidency after Richard Nixon’s resignation. There have been 16 governors in U.S. history who have become vice presidents.

Walz would also be the third Minnesotan to serve as vice president, after Hubert Humphrey, President Lyndon Johnson’s VP, and Walter Mondale, President Jimmy Carter’s VP. Both Humphrey and Mondale were Democrats.

If Walz is elected and Flanagan becomes Minnesota’s governor, State Senate President Bobby Joe Champion would then rise to Flanagan’s post as lieutenant governor.

Champion would become Minnesota’s first Black lieutenant governor. The transitions would leave the state Senate deadlocked until a special election fills his seat.

Flanagan would carry out the rest of Walz’s term, which ends on January 4, 2027. Walz was reelected as governor in 2022 with 52 percent of the vote. He was first elected to the office in 2018 after serving 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

If the Democrats lose the presidential race, Walz will remain governor and serve out the remainder of his term. He will be eligible to run for reelection in 2026 if he chooses.