Governors have a long tradition of powering their populist appeal by rebuilding what’s physically broken in their states, and then campaigning on it. From Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pledge to “fix the damn roads” in Michigan to former Republican Gov. Jim Thompson’s popular “Build Illinois” program in the 1980s, boasts about fixing bridges, stringing electricity lines and opening factories have tended to fire up voters in the Midwest. Two-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice for vice president, is cast in a similar mold — in this case, a Minnesota infrastructure program fueled by laws and orders Walz signed to cut red tape and speed permitting for electric transmission and renewable energy projects, to set a zero-carbon electricity standard, and to increase energy efficiency. On the national stage, Walz is now thrust into the role as promoter and defender of more than $1 trillion in spending on clean energy infrastructure built into the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Today, during their first full day as a campaign duo, Harris and Walz barnstormed in Wisconsin and Detroit. In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Walz stopped midspeech to call for help as a spectator at the front of the crowd overheated. (Walz refrained from mentioning climate change.) And when Harris took the stage, she promised to “bring manufacturing jobs back.” “Because we all remember what it was like before the Inflation Reduction Act,” Harris said, citing parts of the law meant to bring down health care costs. “We’re not going back,” she said, her voice inflecting higher. “We’re not going back!” the crowd followed. Walz has backed arguably the most forward-looking clean energy transition outside of Colorado and California. But Minnesota’s energy profile suggests a Harris-Walz administration starting in 2025 would be plunged into similar policy dilemmas as President Joe Biden: projecting global power through the nation’s record production of oil and gas, while investing huge sums and political capital on speeding an energy transition to wind, solar, battery technology and advanced nuclear power. As governor, some of Walz’s focus on electricity infrastructure has been in the political shadows, Brian Dabbs, Carlos Anchondo and Jeffrey Tomich report. He joined three other Midwestern governors to work behind the scenes to lean on the region’s grid operator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, to expand its high-voltage transmission system to enable the transition to more wind and solar power. Much of the nation, and particularly the Midwest, is still tethered to fossil fuels as utilities and regional energy markets adopt clean technology slowly. What Walz might bring to the White House is experience with all of it, and a less blinkered view of what can be accomplished by working with other states and setting zero-carbon timelines. Minnesota still burns coal for about 27 percent of its electricity. Natural gas fuels about 20 percent of power generation, and Minnesota is home to a few big nuclear power plants, which generate a quarter of its electricity. Wealthy private-sector backers like Bill Gates and the Department of Energy are shoveling money into advanced nuclear technology. Minnesota Democrats haven't been huge fans of expanding the nuclear fleet. But if slashing climate pollution is national policy under a Harris administration, Walz might have something to say about it.
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