Walz’s 1995 DUI arrest in Nebraska: 5 questions, answered

Now that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ascended to the national stage, details of his record and his past are getting more scrutiny. That includes a 1995 incident in which Walz was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Nebraska. He was 31 and working as a teacher at the time.

Here are five questions and answers about the incident and its effects.

1) What happened the night Walz was stopped?

Walz was pulled over around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, 1995 in Chadron, Neb.

A trooper said he saw a Mazda drive by at a high rate of speed. The trooper used radar to clock the speed at 96 mph in a 55-mph zone.

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According to the arrest affidavit, the trooper described a strong smell of alcohol on Walz. He administered a field sobriety test and then a preliminary test on Walz. Walz failed both. He was then taken to the local hospital for a blood test, and then transported to the Dawes County jail.

2 ) What did Walz do?

In March 1996, Walz pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving. The judge in the case also noted that the complaint alleged Walz drove his vehicle in a manner that would indicate a “wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Walz said he understood as he entered the guilty plea.

During the hearing, the prosecuting attorney noted Walz was driving away from a police officer at a high rate of speed before he was stopped. The prosecutor also noted that Walz’s blood alcohol level was point 0.128, exceeding the legal limit at the time which was 0.1.

3 ) How did Walz’s defense attorney respond?

The attorney prefaced his statement on Walz driving away from law enforcement by saying it was “a little bit bizarre” but that Walz thought he was being chased. He said Walz saw a car without lights coming up fast behind him, so he sped up and kept going … until after the red lights on the law enforcement vehicle came on.

The defense attorney also said Walz had been drinking. He added that Walz felt so bad about the incident he informed the principal of the high school where he worked as a teacher and offered to resign. According to the lawyer, the principal convinced Walz to stay.

The judge fined Walz $200 plus court costs.

4 ) Did the arrest affect his early political career?

Walz hasn’t lost a race in his political career. He was elected to Congress seven times and won two statewide contests for governor in 2018 and 2022. His DUI only surfaced during his initial run for Congress in 2006.

It came up when Walz first ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2006, about 10 years after the arrest. He challenged incumbent Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht.

We searched through MPR News and other outlets coverage of the 2006 race.

In September of that year, the Rochester Post-Bulletin ran a story about the 1995 arrest. The newspaper quoted Walz’s campaign manager saying Walz was speeding but was not drunk. She said Walz misunderstood some of the commands given by the trooper due to hearing loss he suffered while being in the military.

The arrest was noted by a Republican operative in the 2006 campaign, but Gutknecht declined to raise it during a debate that fall.

5 ) Could the arrest affect the current campaign?

It’s hard to predict what voters think will be relevant and how the Trump campaign will address it. But this is an arrest that happened nearly 30 years ago, well before Walz began his political career.

The governor also hasn’t been shy about owning up to the incident. He told the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper in 2018 that the arrest was a gut-check moment for him. He has also said he’s given up alcohol since that day.

Those are all factors that the Harris campaign would have discussed during the vetting of his record.