When Tim Walz decided to leave Congress to run for Governor, he faced several challenges: running a campaign from dysfunctional Washington, winning the Democratic nomination while hailing from a rural part of the state with a more moderate voting record and trying to become the first governor in Minnesota to succeed a two-term governor from their own party.  In the DFL primary, we emphasized Walz’s record of standing against Trump and for progressive values, even when they weren’t popular.  We introduced him not just as a member of Congress – but as a high school teacher and football coach.  And we dominated the general election by running as a unifying figure in a time of great division without running away from core progressive ideals.