Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz thinks Democrats will win back the House in the 2026 midterm elections but says he is "very pessimistic about the Senate."

Walz made the comment in response to a reporter's question Monday at an event at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics. 

"I think we will take back the House," said Walz, who was the Democrats' 2024 vice presidential nominee. "I am very pessimistic about the Senate, just to be honest with you, the way things work."

He also said he admired former Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, and Jon Tester, of Montana, both of whom lost their seats in the 2024 elections because of their association with the national Democratic Party.

"If Jon Tester can't win, you're not gonna find somebody that's gonna win the way it is in Montana right now -- right now," he said. "Now the question is, we have to fundamentally change who we are because look, Jon Tester got drugged down, and I don't blame him – like, he was a dear friend of mine, we served in there – during the presidential campaign, he's like, 'don't call me, dude.'

“The thing was, is being associated with national parties and things on these state races – we’re going to have to figure that piece out of, how do we reimagine,” he continued.