Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate will once again focus national attention on the Democratic governor’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in the state.
“[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 last week. “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.”
The comments came as Harris was narrowing down her running mate list, which was reportedly narrowed down to Walz and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Though the vice president ultimately chose Walz, Democrats see Harris as having the experience and track record in battleground states to lead her to victory.
“Governor Walz is a strong leader. [l]”As state legislators, we have worked together in the most productive legislative session in decades, passing policies that help Minnesotans build a better life for themselves and their families,” Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said in a statement.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a Biden-Harris campaign press conference during the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024 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.
Meanwhile, 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 the mandate was unconstitutional, but an appeals court ultimately sided with Walz.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. (Getty Images)
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.
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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.”
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.
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 May 28, 2020. (Andy Rathbun/MediaNews Group/St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)
Harris herself has also faced criticism, particularly over a tweet urging her followers to donate to a bail fund used to secure the release of protesters from jail in the state.
“If you’re able, please donate now to the @MNFreedomFund to help pay bail for those protesting in Minnesota,” Harris said at the time.
This fact has not gone unnoticed by critics such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who called Harris and Waltz “the most left-wing candidates in American history.”
“Minnesota was the epicenter of the 2020 BLM riots,” the Republican governor said on X shortly after Harris’ selection was revealed. “Harris instigated them, and Walz stood by and let Minneapolis burn.”
Walz also faced criticism for violating his own coronavirus orders when he attended a memorial for Floyd, with the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reporting at the time that the crowds were too crowded and exceeded the limits of the rules the governor himself had promoted.
The governor acknowledged the service violated orders but explained the event was necessary to help “heal” the community.
“I don’t think it was a good decision to deny that from happening in order to restore the wellbeing of the broader society, but we could have done a little better in terms of social distancing,” he said at the 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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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.
“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. “On top of 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.”
Smoke rises from a fire inside a police cruiser vehicle in Philadelphia, as part of the nationwide unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd, on May 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Luke, File)
Han made similar comments, accusing the governor of “gross mismanagement” of state funds.
“He has developed a spending plan that is far beyond our financial capabilities and has thrust 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.
Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
