Gov. Walz talks about 'complicated' tenure, asks Legislature to pass his agenda in final State of the State
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Gov. Tim Walz reflected Tuesday night during his eighth and final State of the State address on the accomplishments — as well as the vast challenges — Minnesotans faced together.
The DFLer paid homage to people killed in high-profile incidents in the last year, including House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, two children at Annunciation Catholic Church and School and two Minnesotans fatally shot by federal immigration enforcement officers.
“We gather tonight in the long shadow of all these tragic, transformative losses. And yet, the state of our state remains strong,” Walz said. “Indeed, over the last several months, the world has seen our strength — a strength that comes not from our politics, but from our people.”
He called on lawmakers to use the final three weeks of the legislative session to pass new gun restrictions, a public construction projects bill and additional fraud-prevention measures. The speech came hours after federal agents executed search warrants on dozens of childcare and autism centers in the Twin Cities as part of an investigation related to fraud.
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Walz and state officials said the state assisted in the actions and were working to “hold bad actors accountable.” Republicans said the scale of the raids shows how pervasive fraud has become and they blamed lax state oversight for it.
The governor, meanwhile, said lawmakers can take additional steps this year to prevent fraud.
“People who have ripped us off are getting caught. And they are going to jail. I’ve said the buck stops with me,” Walz said, urging lawmakers to pass legislation creating new guardrails instead of just taking the issue to the campaign trail.
“My ask for you tonight is simple: If you take fraud seriously, take your responsibility to help me stop it seriously,” he continued.
It’s clear that legislators, who are all up for election, and Walz, who is not, are both looking ahead to what’s next. Walz did get a dig in at Vice President JD Vance, who is seen as a top 2028 GOP contender for president, tying him to big-tech companies making many Americans uneasy.
Republicans applauded when Walz noted he’s not running for a third term. And he went off script to note that a vast slate of policy priorities passed under full Democratic control in St. Paul would outlast him, bringing Democrats in the chamber to their feet.
Walz, a second-term governor and former vice presidential candidate, is planning for life after political office when his term comes to a close next year. In some ways, Walz’s lame-duck status has lawmakers plowing ahead without him with just three weeks left in the legislative session, although his signature is needed for anything to happen this year.
Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, has experienced dozens of these formal addresses over three-plus decades.
“It probably will have less of an impact, because so many things are already done,” Davids said. “But I think it's important. It’s tradition, and I’m a traditionalist.”
In the first Walz speech to a joint session in 2019, Walz urged an also-divided Legislature to come together and move Minnesota forward.
House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson said he hopes Walz can encourage lawmakers to find agreement again.
“That setting where we're all in the same room, that should be the tone: that a legislative session is a terrible thing to waste,” Stephenson, of Coon Rapids, said. “There's a lot of work we can get done in the last three, four weeks of session, and let's put our heads down and get to work.”
In his Tuesday speech, Walz outlined what he hopes comes next for Minnesota — even after his departure. The Legislature will ultimately decide whether his draft of Minnesota’s future is ready for print or should be revised.
Cascading challenges marked the Walz tenure: a pandemic, civil unrest and the assassination of his steadfast legislative ally, Hortman.
Some past State of the State addresses by Walz were built around the crisis of the moment.
Public frustration over fraud and constant clashes with Republican President Donald Trump left Walz in a wobbly position.
On Tuesday, the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee took testimony about alleged fraud in Minnesota childcare centers. Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, criticized the governor for not taking part in the hearing given the search warrants served in Twin Cities daycare locations.
“This should be addressed by the governor before our committee, and I know he's available today. He's probably in the basement or somewhere in this building, because tonight is the State of the State address,” said Robbins, a Republican candidate for governor. “He is somewhere here in the building, declining to join us, and that is incredibly frustrating.”
Walz cut short a reelection campaign this January.
“I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” Walz said as he ended his third-term bid. "Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can't spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who want to prey on our differences.”
Walz is now charting his next chapter. He's writing a book, formed a political action committee to recruit Democratic candidates and is on the national speaking circuit.
He’s said he doesn’t plan to run for office again.
