Kamala Harris would become America’s first woman president if she wins on Election Day.
But that’s not the only historic achievement that would come with her victory. Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, presently serves as governor of Minnesota. If he leaves the post to become vice president, current Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would take over as first in the line of succession – and in doing so, would become the first Native-American governor in U.S. history.
A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan is already the highest-ranking Native-American woman in elected office throughout the nation. She was first elected in 2018, after she and Walz ran together for their respective seats. They secured re-election following a second joint campaign in 2022.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she voiced her support of her former running mate’s candidacy. “I’ve been friends with Tim Walz for almost 20 years. And for more than five years, he’s been my partner in justice at the Minnesota Capitol,” she wrote. “He has the grit and the grace to keep our country moving forward alongside Kamala Harris.”
But who is Flanagan herself?
For starters, she’s a born-and-raised Minnesotan, growing up in the Minneapolis suburb of Saint Louis Park and graduating from its public schools. (And in fact, Flanagan still resides there now, along with her husband, Tom, their daughter, Siobhan, and the family dog, Reuben.) She then attended the University of Minnesota, earning a bachelor’s degree in American Indian studies and child psychology from the school in 2002.
Following graduation, she went to work at Wellstone Action, now Re:Power, a nonprofit that trains community organizers, candidates for office, student activists and other progressives doing grassroots work. During her almost 10 years there, she developed its flagship program, Camp Wellstone – where she herself trained Walz to run for office. Then, she worked with Children’s Defense Fund, an advocacy organization.
Her work on behalf of children continued when she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives after being elected to represent her hometown in 2015. While in that office, she served on the Subcommittee on Child Care Access and Affordability and assisted in forming the POCI Caucus, which crafts targeted education and health assistance programs for people of color and Indigenous communities in Minnesota.
As lieutenant governor, Flanagan continued to be a supporter of fellow marginalized individuals, using her influence to promote the establishment of America’s first-ever Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office in 2021. “Too often, Native women, at best, are invisible and at worst, we are disposable,” Flanagan noted of its formation. “That must and that will change.”
She also continued making historic moves, namely by being voted chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association last year, which makes her the first Indigenous woman ever to lead a party committee.
Additionally, Flanagan has also spoken out in support of reproductive freedom, lending her time and support to Minnesota abortion clinics earlier this year as they prepared to welcome patients seeking abortions from far-more-restrictive Iowa. “If you’re afraid, come to Minnesota,” she said during a press event last month. “We’ve got you.”
If promoted to the governorship, she would be likely to continue advocating for women, children and people of color, addressing their problems from her unique perspective as a Native-American woman. A perspective that matters, she asserts – Flanagan has always been plain about the need for improved representation for non-white, non-male elected officials. As she noted to the 19th: “It really matters who’s at the table, and who’s elected.”
