Walz says he was 'a little surprised' by election loss

(The Hill) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, reflected on the Democratic Party's loss in the presidential election, saying he was "a little surprised" by the outcome.

“It felt like at the rallies, at the things I was going to, the shops I was going in, that the momentum was going our way," Walz told local Minnesota outlet KSTP-TV's Tom Hauser in an interview Thursday. "And it obviously wasn’t at the end of time."

"So, yeah, I was a little surprised. I thought we had a positive message, and I thought the country was ready for that," he said.

Walz's remarks come after the Democratic Party faced widespread losses in last month's election after the presidential race was called for President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans also took control of the Senate and maintained their narrow House majority.

Since then, Democrats have been searching for answers, with some blaming ineffective messaging on kitchen-table economic issues, such as inflation, wages and the accelerating trend of wealth inequality. For others, the trouble stems from the explosive debate over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. For still others, the problems relate to culture war battles, including LGBTQ issues such as transgender rights.

During the interview Thursday, Walz praised his time on the campaign trail with Harris.

“It was a privilege to do that. It was a privilege to, when asked to serve, to serve with Vice President Harris," he said. "I certainly got to see America."

The Minnesota governor also expressed optimism toward the future.

"Coming back here now and having the privilege to be able to continue to do this work feels really good, and I'm actually really looking forward to this legislative session with some different dynamics around it," Walz told Hauser.

KSTP-TV reported that the major shift is that control of the Minnesota House of Representatives is now at 67-67, with one pending race.

Walz also said he will "miss the excitement" of the campaign trail and being Harris' second-in-command, per the outlet. He also recounted when the vice president first introduced him as her running mate during an event at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“And then I’m standing at the curtain with the vice president of the United States with 15 or 20,000 people in the national press out there,” he recounted. “And she turns to me, and she says, well, let’s not screw this up and we went out there."