On this edition of Your Call, we'll discuss Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's political career.
According to ABC, Governor Walz grew up in the small town of West Point, Nebraska. He was a social studies teacher, football coach and union member at Mankato West High School in Minnesota before he got into politics.
He won the first of six terms in Congress in 2006 from a mostly rural southern Minnesota district, and used the office to champion veterans issues. Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military.
He ran for governor in 2018 on the theme of "One Minnesota" and won by more than 11 points.
Walz and other Democrats went into the 2023 legislative session with an ambitious agenda - and a whopping $17.6 billion budget surplus to help fund it. Their proudest accomplishments included sweeping protections for abortion rights that included the elimination of nearly all restrictions Republicans had enacted in prior years, including a 24-hour waiting period and parental consent requirements. They also enacted new protections for trans rights, making the state a refuge for families coming from out of state for treatment for trans children.
Their other major accomplishments included tax credits for families with children that were aimed at slashing childhood poverty, as well as universal free school breakfasts and lunches for all students, regardless of family income. They also enacted a paid family and medical leave program, legalized recreational marijuana for adults and made it easier to vote.
Guests:
David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect and author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power
Daniel Marans, senior politics reporter at HuffPost
Resources:
The American Prospect: Tim Walz: From Small-Town Minnesota to the Campaign Trail
