After Loss, Tim Walz Faces Party’s Sinking Fortunes in Minnesota

Since returning to Minnesota after a failed bid for vice president, Gov. Tim Walz has kept a relatively low profile. He consoled deflated supporters with a speech at a high school, posed for photos with a turkey at the Minnesota State Capitol to mark Thanksgiving and flew to the Bahamas for a brief respite from the cold.

This week, Mr. Walz, a Democrat, must start grappling in earnest with his party’s sinking political fortunes in his home state as lawmakers begin meeting in St. Paul for what is expected to be an unusually acrimonious state legislative session.

Minnesota Democrats controlled the governor’s mansion and the State Legislature the past two years, allowing them to pass a trove of liberal laws on abortion rights, marijuana and medical leave. But they are bracing for a new era of gridlock, having lost their slim majority in the House. Their control of the Senate is tenuous.

State budget officials last month