Democratic candidate for governor Tim Walz declared his support for an increase in the state minimum wage to $15 on Wednesday, after initially seeming to backtrack from that support.
At a news conference with a group of mayors, Walz, a southern Minnesota congressman, called the $15 pledge "aspirational," then declined to say specifically what increase he thinks is immediately appropriate.
"That kind of short circuits the way I build coalitions," Walz said. "We have not had that general conversation. We have not built it together."
He added: "What I do know is we do need to have it."
Later in the day, Walz reaffirmed his support with a tweet that said, "I support a $15 minimum wage. I voted for a $15 minimum wage in Congress, and would be proud to sign it into law if it came to my desk as Governor."
Walz is running against Republican Jeff Johnson, a Republican Hennepin County Board member from Plymouth. Johnson does not support a $15 minimum wage and has also said he is opposed to the ability of Minnesota cities to implement their own minimum wages, as cities including Minneapolis and St. Paul pursue them.
Walz said he would listen to both workers and businesses to set a wage floor. He credited higher minimum wages with improving the lives of families.
"But," he added, "we've also seen the passion of folks who say, 'Hey, I wanna do the right thing here but here's the economics of my business.' I think its irresponsible at this point in time not to bring them together and have that conversation of where we land."