Curator talks archiving Walz’s bid for VP, preserving political legacies
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
With his defeat on the national stage, Gov. Tim Walz’s focus is squarely on state issues. The state Legislature convenes in one week, and Walz is down Democratic majorities in both the Minnesota House and Senate.
While brief, the governor’s bid for vice president will add another chapter to his legacy in politics, and the Minnesota Historical Society has gotten a jumpstart on preserving it.
Jennifer Huebscher, curator of photography and moving images at the historical society told MPR News they made the decision to document Walz’s candidacy before Election Day. Since then, they’ve put out a call for materials, especially 3D objects.
“It’s something that we’re looking to be proactive about and collect now because a lot of these types of things — the yard signs, pins, stickers, clothing — a lot of people throw those out once the election is over, and so it can be more difficult to acquire them,” Huebscher said.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
The effort is far from new. The historical society worked swiftly to gather materials when candidates including Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey pursued higher office. The materials range widely, including everything from candidate buttons to a curated clothing line.
The prized possession of the Walz campaign for the MHS team is the camo hat — and the team already has already snagged one.
“That’s just so distinctly Tim Walz,” Huebscher said delightedly. “I think it resonates with a lot of Minnesotans, hunting and outdoors and just making that connection.”
One of the biggest challenges of documenting a politician’s career, however, is waiting until they’re done with each position or poised to retire. Secondly, records can be scattered about across individuals, groups and campaign officials.
“It’s often trying to coordinate who has what and how it’s organized ahead of time, and oftentimes giving some helpful hints as to what we’re looking for,” Huebscher explained.
As information sharing diversifies and increases — from the birth of the internet to digitization, to the dawn of social media to the birth of new platforms — new curveballs are tossed in archivists’ directions. Social media in particular, Huebscher said, is tough, and a challenge the entire field is grappling with.
“A lot of social media is just immediacy, going viral, getting that information and reacting to it as soon as possible,” she said. “It’s very much a living environment, and it is harder to capture that.”
Those online interactions are important but difficult to document, as well as consider what to include when Snapchat stories and Instagram reels disappear and Facebook photos can be heavily filtered. To try and capture public sentiment, MHS asks donors to share a story about why they acquired the item they’re giving, too.
Defining a legacy can be quite individual, Huebscher said, but MHS’s approach hinges on acquiring materials and then making them accessible to the public.
“And it’s how people choose to use these materials and engage with these materials, share stories, what resonates with them,” Huebscher said. “When you think about political legacies in particular, you know they don’t stand alone. They’re built on those who came before us, and then they’ll impact those who come after us.”
MHS will follow that directive with Walz, and for those who succeed him.
“As that adds to materials that we have from other politicians who may have influenced him in the past, and will ultimately, I think, as we get records of those who come after him, really give us a good story, Huebscher said.
