While Vice President Kamala Harris‘s newly picked running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), is a progressive Democrat, his party is a quirk within the Democratic Party: Minnesota‘s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, or the DFL.
The DFL is affiliated with the Democratic Party but was created in the 1940s out of a merger between the state’s Farmer-Labor Party and the Democratic Party. The DFL is one of two Democratic Party state affiliates with a different name than the national party, with the other being the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party.
Throughout its history, there have been some internal arguments about what direction to move in, but it has largely been progressive. Two members of the party in history include Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, who became senators and later vice presidents of the United States.
Minnesota’s senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are members of the DFL. Four of the state’s eight Minnesota congressional seats also belong to members of the DFL.
While the DFL has the same beliefs as the Democratic Party on a majority of policy issues, it has had varied success statewide from the 1970s through the late 2010s. This was partly due to the increase of split single-issue voters in the wake of reforms brought by the national Democratic Party.
During the 2022 elections, however, the DFL dominated Minnesota state politics with a trifecta win, hanging on to executive leadership and creating majorities in the Minnesota House and Senate. It was the first time the DFL had full leadership in over a decade.
Under the leadership of Walz, Minnesota has passed many Democratic policies in a short time span, including legalizing marijuana, implementing a universal free school meals program, expanding women’s reproductive rights, and investing in labor protections.
At the end of the 2022 legislative season, Walz called it “the most successful legislative session, certainly in many of our lifetimes and maybe in Minnesota history.” Former President Barack Obama also commended Minnesota’s operation that year.
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“If you need a reminder that elections have consequences, check out what’s happening in Minnesota,” Obama posted on X. “Earlier this year, Democrats took control of the State Senate by one seat after winning a race by just 321 votes. It gave Democrats control of both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion.”
“Since then, Minnesota has made progress on a whole host of issues — from protecting abortion rights and new gun safety measures to expanding access to the ballot and reducing child poverty. These laws will make a real difference in the lives of Minnesotans,” he continued.
