Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who's emerged as a top contender for Vice President Harris's running mate, helped turn Minnesota into a refuge for LGBTQ Americans, signing laws that shield access to gender-affirming health care and abortion, ban conversion therapy and make it illegal for libraries to ban books solely because they have LGBTQ themes or characters.

Under Walz's leadership, Minnesota has solidified itself as a liberal stronghold in the largely conservative Midwest, though the governor has long supported progressive issues like LGBTQ equality.

In 1999, Walz, then a 35-year-old social studies teacher at Mankato West High School, advised the school's first gay-straight alliance (GSA), a student-led club supporting LGBTQ students and families. Later, in 2006, Walz ousted a longtime Republican member of Congress in a largely rural district, running on a platform that included support for same-sex marriage, which the state banned in 1997.

"It wasn't a popular position at the time for a red-district Democrat. It didn't score him any political points. But he stood up for families like mine because he believed it was the right thing to do," Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), one of 12 out LGBTQ members of Congress, wrote on the social platform X last month in endorsing Walz for vice president. "His bravery made a difference in my life and the lives of thousands of Minnesotans – and it's a bravery that would make our country better."

In Congress, Walz advocated for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a military policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly. "Not once did I see that this nation was safer because a soldier was removed because of sexual orientation," Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, said in a 2009 House floor speech. That same year, he facilitated the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a landmark law signed by former President Barack Obama that protects against crimes motivated by anti-LGBTQ animus.

"That carries a lot of weight," she said. "Even if a vice president isn't necessarily driving every piece of a policy agenda, to have somebody who is unapologetically supportive of the community, who will stand for the community and has signed bills into law that really pushed the needle forward nationally, makes a huge difference."

Walz, who has served as governor of Minnesota since 2019, in a March 2023 executive order made the state among the first to protect seekers and providers of gender-affirming health care from prosecution by states with bans in effect. The following month, Walz signed legislation safeguarding access to care.

On both occasions, Walz held signing ceremonies at the state capitol in St. Paul, where he was flanked by supporters. While signing his executive order, Walz held the hand of 12-year-old Hildie Edwards, a transgender girl who testified in support of the state's trans refuge bill in February.

Walz was an early supporter of the Respect for Marriage Act, a proposal to codify same-sex and interracial couples' right to marry that Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced in 2009. President Biden signed the measure into law in 2022.

"Tim, just as an individual, has had a long-standing commitment to inclusion as a general value," said Kat Rohn, executive director of OutFront Minnesota, a state LGBTQ rights group.

Rohn, whose organization worked with Walz and the state Legislature to ban conversion therapy — a discredited practice that aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity — in Minnesota last year, said she sees Walz as an opportunity for LGBTQ people, and transgender people in particular, to have their voices heard and their needs met.

"Governor Walz didn't just rubber-stamp pro-LGBTQ legislation, he held celebrations and celebratory signings for things like the trans refuge bill that some governors might sign quietly," said Rohn, of OutFront Minnesota. "That's a really important quality for LGBTQ folks to see, that this is not something that is just necessary, but it's something to celebrate and something that can be a winning issue."

"Tim Walz has definitely showcased what is possible. He'd be a great asset to the ticket," said Sean Meloy, vice president of political programs at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which works to elect more LGBTQ people to public office.

Walz's Democratic competitors — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky — also have strong positive records on LGBTQ rights, Meloy noted. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is also being considered for Harris's running mate, could be the nation's first gay vice president.