Walz in the wilderness: from future VP to unemployed in just a few years

Had history turned out differently, Tim Walz might be about to begin his second year as vice president. Instead, the Minnesota governor is thinking about going back to teaching geography.

“What I’m really good at is, I’m a really good geography teacher,” Walz said with a laugh at a press conference Tuesday. “I think that’s something where I would find the joy in, in getting back in there, trying to teach.”

Before Walz ran for Congress and later governor, he was a teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota.

Walz’s political future looked bright in 2024 when his legislative successes and folksy image helped entice Kamala Harris to choose him as her running mate. Though they lost, Walz was still seen as a rising star within the Democratic Party — even a possible presidential candidate for 2028.

But Walz, who has come under fire for failing to prevent massive fraud in government programs on his watch, on Monday abandoned his quest for a third term as governor.

He told reporters Tuesday that he doesn’t know what his future holds, except that he plans to run some marathons and defend the title that he won in his age division in a shorter “Turkey Trot” race on Thanksgiving. He said he also expects to be tied up for the next year with trying to fight off the Trump administration’s targeting of Minnesota, including a surge of federal officers into the state.

“Look, I got a year of work to do here. I think it will be the most challenging year, and that includes probably COVID,” he said, referring to how he spent much of 2020 leading the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. “I caution Minnesotans, this is going to get worse before it gets better. … For me, I’m going to do this work.”

Walz also highlighted one of his proudest accomplishments in office, the Jan. 1 launch of a paid family and medical leave program, which the Legislature passed in 2023 after Democrats took full control of the statehouse for two years.

Walz and his allies used the relatively rare break in Minnesota’s usual pattern of divided government to eliminate nearly all abortion restrictions enacted by Minnesota Republicans, protect gender-affirming care for transgender youth and legalize recreational marijuana. The list of Democratic priorities they enacted also included free school meals for all students and gun safety measures.

Dan Hofrenning, a political scientist at St. Olaf College, said he thinks the end of Walz’s candidacy for governor is probably the end of his career in elected office.

“One never says never on political futures, but two-term governor, vice presidential candidate, that’s a pretty good run,” Hofrenning said. “And at the end of that run, pulling out of the race is a recognition that he had some strong political vulnerabilities.”

Had Walz lost, Hofrenning said, his reputation would have been further tarnished. But Walz now has the chance to move into an “elder statesman role,” he said. Walz could be a potential cabinet secretary or ambassador if a Democrat wins the 2028 presidential race, he said.

University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs wasn’t ready to write Walz off just yet. He said the governor is a “very talented politician who brings some unique skill sets” to the Democratic Party.

“After you pull out like this, it’s easy to say ‘no future’ because he’s going out on a downer, and it looks like he has his tail between his legs, but I think that might be shortsighted,” Jacobs said. “There could be a spot in a year or two when this has blown over a bit and he’s got an opportunity, perhaps, to run for U.S. Senate.”

But Jacobs isn’t sure that becoming a cabinet secretary is in the cards for Walz.

“I think his stay in the national scene as a VP candidate didn’t leave him in high standing,” Jacobs said. “There’s a real perception of him as kind of out of his league.”

Walz earns about $127,000 a year as governor and has listed his main assets as his pension and other retirement plans. A Wall Street Journal analysis in 2024 put his and his wife’s net worth at $800,000. Forbes went higher with an estimate of just over $1 million, but said he was “the least wealthy politician on a major party ticket” that election cycle.

“He’s going to need employment. Maybe he finds himself a new niche, maybe in the foundation world,” Jacobs said. “But I don’t think this is a guy who’s going to retire in the near future.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com