Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been eyed as a potential running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination in 2024, but some critics point to the riots in Minneapolis and Kenosha that rocked the state’s urban centers in 2020, as well as the state’s response to COVID-19.
“[H]”He’s been a disaster for Minnesota and the most partisan governor we’ve had in as long as I can remember,” Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hahn told Fox News Digital. “Looking back at 2020, certainly he didn’t try to stop the riots that were happening in Minneapolis. I think he was afraid of alienating his ‘progressive’ base that supported the riots. Kamala Harris was raising money for the rioters.”
Democrats, meanwhile, see Walz, who has been elected governor twice since 2018 and served in Congress for 12 years, as a strong contender in key battleground states that could help Harris win in November.
“Governor Walz is a strong leader. [l]”He is a great member of our state legislature and will be an excellent choice as vice president,” Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Over the past two years, we have spent the most productive session together in Minnesota in decades, passing policies that will help Minnesotans improve the lives of themselves and their families.”
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz discusses his Project 2025 plan during a Biden-Harris campaign news conference on day three of the 2024 Republican National Convention, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, near Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
“The past two years have been a shining example of how Tim Waltz excels at working collaboratively with strong women to get things done,” Hortman added.
“I am excited about Kamala Harris’ candidacy and believe the addition of Governor Walz to the slate of candidates will be a strong addition,” the state legislator said.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is being eyed as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. (Montinique Monroe | Jim Vondruska)
Some critics point to Gov. Walz’s memo requiring masks to be worn indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he enacted in 2020 and allowed to expire in 2021. The Upper Midwest Law Center sued, arguing that the mandate was unconstitutional, but an appeals court ultimately ruled in Walz’s favor.
Governor Walz also set up a hotline for residents to report any residents who are violating COVID-19 restrictions. FOX 9 Minneapolis reported at that time.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been elected governor twice since 2018 and served in the U.S. Congress for 12 years.
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Republican state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka told Walz, [the] “The hotline is down,” he said in a post after the hotline was launched, calling the move “unnecessary.”
“While we all manage our own time and needs differently during our stay-at-home efforts, we can all show a little kindness to our neighbors,” the state senator said at the time.
Gazelka also pointed out that Gov. Walz delayed sending the National Guard to Minneapolis when riots broke out downtown after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (left) talks with Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Silges. (Michael Goldberg/AP)
“I called the White House. [four] “The riots have continued for days because the governor doesn’t know what to do,” Gazelka wrote to X on Sunday.[.] Waltz and the Press[ident] Trump spoke. I know Waltz ended up sending out the full Guard the next night. But Waltz [three] It was a few days too late. Maybe the pressure made him move.”
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Hann similarly said Governor Walz “waited three days before asking for the National Guard,” and noted that a “defund the police” movement has sprung up in Minnesota following Floyd’s killing and the subsequent riots in the Twin Cities and Kenosha.
“He demonstrated a remarkable lack of leadership in responding to riots that were deeply destructive and whose aftermath continues to impact the quality of life and business environment in Minneapolis.”
A protester holds a sign in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as he stands next to a burning car during the third day of protests over the death of George Floyd, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. (Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The delayed response has resulted in devastating damage to hundreds of businesses across Minneapolis and St. Paul, forcing them to turn to local governments for help recovering, on top of what they lost during pandemic-related shutdowns.
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Town Talk Diner owners Charles Stotts and his wife, Casey White, watch as water pours out of their restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 28, 2020. (Andy Rathbun/MediaNews Group/St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)
But the criticism from Republicans didn’t end in 2021, post-COVID.
In March, Governor Walz called Minnesota “the best state in the nation to raise a kid” during his State of the State address. He listed goals such as increasing school funding, mandating “100 percent” clean energy by 2040, protecting abortion rights and protecting LGBTQ minors. Pioneer Press.
House Minority Leader Lisa DeMuth Answer given He pointed to the challenges facing Minnesota under Walz’s leadership, starting with the roughly $18 billion surplus from Walz’s $72 billion budget that was originally supposed to be returned to taxpayers but was instead used for other state initiatives.
“We have expanded government in ways that are unsustainable.”
“Providing tax breaks for young families would sound great if Minnesota wasn’t such an expensive place to live, and I appreciate that, but we know that,” DeMuth said in March. “In addition to the $18 billion surplus that’s now gone, taxes and fees — our state budget — have increased by another $10 billion. We’ve expanded government in an unsustainable way.”
Kenosha County sheriff’s deputies and police officers in riot gear stand behind a burning truck during protests following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 24, 2020. (Photo: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Han made similar comments, accusing the governor of “gross mismanagement” of state funds.
“He has put in place a spending plan that is far beyond our financial means and has put the state into a structural deficit well into the future. … He and his policies are harmful to businesses.”
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She also noted that children’s performance on statewide education tests has declined.
Additionally, many critics of Governor Walz’s leadership point out that violent crime has been increasing not only in the Twin Cities but across the state since about 2020. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, violent crime has decreased slightly in 2023 but is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Waltz’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
