The Harris Walz campaign could have yet another history-making first on its hands, if VP Kamala Harris is elected president with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz by her side. Per Minnesota’s constitutional succession rules, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would become not only the state’s first female governor, she would also become the first Native American woman to lead a state in United States history.
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Peggy Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and is “currently the country’s highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office,” according to her official state biography. As lieutenant governor, Flanagan has worked to build bridges between Minnesota government officials and leaders of the 11 tribal nations in the state. As part of the Governor’s Office, she’s been central in legislative victories like the establishment of the nation’s first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office.
When asked last month by Minnesota news outlet MinnPost how she felt about potentially becoming the first female governor of Minnesota and the first female Native American governor of any state, Flanagan demurred, “I think Gov. Walz would be honored to be selected to be the vice president and I have been honored this entire time to serve the people of Minnesota. That would not change,” she said.
If this series of events comes to pass, the succession would trigger yet another historic first. Bobby Joe Champion, president of the Minnesota State Senate, would replace Flanagan as lieutenant governor — becoming the first Black person to assume the role.
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