Minnesota’s governorship recently entered the national spotlight. Gov. Tim Walz joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the refreshed Democratic ticket for the 2024 presidential election.
Should Harris and Walz win, current Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would be elevated to the state’s top executive position. As a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwel, she is the country’s highest-ranking elected Native American woman. More importantly, she worked in lockstep with Walz on various issues.
For those invested in future attempts to legalize Minnesota sports betting, Flanagan’s ascendance would likely strengthen the tribes’ position.
Walz and Flanagan have been solid supporters of tribes
Both Walz and Flanagan are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). Based on Walz’s past statements and actions, he was in favor of tribes controlling all gaming in Minnesota.
A January 2023 article from Minnesota Reformer made that clear.
“The DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party)-controlled House worked closely with the tribal nations to create a sports betting bill that wouldn’t hinder tribal nations’ casinos, and only granted mobile sports betting licenses to the tribes. Gov. Tim Walz has previously indicated he won’t sign a bill without the tribes’ approval.
“Walz has taken a special interest in the welfare of Indigenous people and the protection of tribal sovereignty.”
The latest indication of that support on the gaming issue came in June when Walz appointed two tribal leaders to the Minnesota Racing Commission. Melanie Benjamin, a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe chief executive, and Johnny Johnson, president of the Prairie Island Indian Community’s tribal council, began their five-year terms on July 1.
The commission, which oversees Minnesota’s horse racing tracks, has been at odds with the state’s tribes over sports betting and other gaming issues in the past.
Walz, defending his choices to Minnesota Public Radio, described the pair as “two Minnesota citizens that have extensive experience in regulation, especially around gambling, and they’re citizens and have every right to be on there.”
Flanagan, meanwhile, has been a staunch supporter for Native Americans on myriad issues. The Guardian reported that in 2023, upon being elected chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, becoming the first Native American woman to lead a party committee, she said:
“Our democracy functions best when it accurately reflects the community it seeks to represent. And so for a very long time, women, people of color, Indigenous folks, were not at decision-making tables, and too many decisions were made without us. I think if we’re going to have strong policies and strong outcomes for communities, women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) folks need to be at the table.”
‘Meaningful progress’ on sports betting
In the last Minnesota legislative session that ended in May, proponents of sports betting characterized their efforts as “running out of time” while making progress compared to prior sessions.
Rep. Zack Stephenson championed efforts in the state’s House of Representatives. He said via X that a strong foundation had been established for success in 2025.
“We’re going to come up just short on the sports betting bill this year. But in the last few days, we proved that we could find a deal that all the major stakeholders could live with. Tribes, tracks, charities … That’s meaningful progress that can be a foundation for the future.”
The state’s electorate still favors the DFL, a merged party dating back to the 1940s unique to Minnesota. Walz was first elected governor in 2018. The state’s last Republican governor was Tim Pawlenty, who served from 2003 to 2011, succeeding Reform Party maverick Jesse Ventura.
