If the Democratic candidate wins the November presidential election, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan will make history as Minnesota’s first Native American and first female governor.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that she has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, making Flanagan her next in line if Walz were to step down from his post to campaign or ultimately become virtual vice president.
Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, will be the first Native American woman to serve as governor of a state in the United States.
Flanagan has already made history in politics, as the highest-ranking Native American woman to hold statewide office and the first Native American woman to lead the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.
Flanagan, 44, First election She co-wrote the Minnesota governorship with Walz in 2018 and has served in that position since 2019. She previously served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, a member of the Minneapolis Board of Education and executive director of the Minnesota Children’s Advocacy Fund. She also trained thousands of activists and elected officials, including Walz, through her work with Wellston Action’s Camp Wellston program.
Flanagan has been campaigning for Harris since she announced she was seeking the Democratic nomination’s top spot. MinnPost reported.
Late last month, in an interview with the Minnesota Post, she indicated she supported Walz being nominated as Harris’ running mate, saying there were several Democratic governors in the running, but “I might be a little biased in terms of who the best choice is.”
Asked if she’d ever considered the possibility of becoming a historic governor, she told the Minnesota Post, “Governor Walz would be honored to be selected as vice president, and I’ve always been honored to serve the people of Minnesota. That hasn’t changed.”
