Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee for President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
Every VP contender on her rumored shortlist had a pro-LGBTQ+ record and, though he is not one of the openly gay options—Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg or Colorado governor Jared Polis—Walz is no exception.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President Annise Parker, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund Vice President Sayre E. Reece, and Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson all voiced their approval of Harris’s selection.
One of the most significant moves for LGBTQ+ rights Walz has made in his time as governor was to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for transgender people. In March 2023 he issued an executive order that made the state one of the earliest to protect seekers and providers of gender-affirming care from prosecution by states with bans on this care. He also signed legislation protecting Minnesotans access to gender-affirming care.
His support is marked by being an early leader on many issues before they were more mainstream. He was the faculty advisor to the first gay-straight alliance at the high school where he taught in 1999. He was vocal about his support of same-sex marriage before it was legal at a national level and was an early supporter of the Respect for Marriage Act 15 years ago.
He also worked for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, played a large role in passing federal anti-hate crimes legislation, banned the gay/trans panic defense, and made it illegal for libraries to ban books solely for including LGBTQ+ content.
In 2021, he signed an executive order banning conversion therapy for minors in his state, making Minnesota one of the first to do so by executive action.
On other progressive issues, he has a mixed track record. He is pro-Israel, making him a difficult choice for the many LGBTQ+ progressives that consider Palestine a make-or-break issue, though he has some softened positions like supporting humanitarian aid and wanting a ceasefire and some see him as having a more nuanced view than many Democrats. As governor, he has enshrined abortion rights, given paid family leave, legalized recreational marijuana use, and required universal background checks for gun purchases in Minnesota.
