Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reportedly announced Tuesday that he will seek reelection, launching his campaign with a new advertisement that casts himself as a bulwark against “chaos, corruption, and cruelty” from Washington.
Walz, a Democrat first elected in 2018, appears eager to remain in St. Paul after his recent defeat on the national stage. He and former Vice President Kamala Harris lost their 2024 presidential campaign against Donald Trump, a contest in which Walz served as Harris’s running mate.
In his launch ad, Walz refrained from naming Trump directly, but his message echoed a familiar Democratic strategy of running against the president even when he is not on the ballot. “I’ve always tried to do what’s right for Minnesota, and I’ll never stop fighting to protect us from the chaos, corruption, and cruelty coming out of Washington,” Walz declared.
The governor pointed to what he called policy successes, citing “paid family leave,” “the child tax credit,” and record-high “graduation rates.”
Yet Walz’s tenure has been marked by controversy, particularly his handling of the 2020 riots that erupted after the death of George Floyd.
The violence devastated Minneapolis and other parts of the state, causing billions in damage nationally and hundreds of millions locally.
Walz delayed activating the Minnesota National Guard until three days into the unrest, by which time rioters had torched a police precinct and overwhelmed city law enforcement.
When the Guard was finally deployed, its mission was largely limited to protecting federal property, not restoring order. Walz later defended his response, saying, “we tried to do the best we can.”
Walz’s national ambitions also brought scrutiny of his ties to China. The governor has said he has visited the country more than 30 times, beginning in the 1990s when he traveled with students on cultural exchange trips. He even honeymooned there, an unusual choice for an American official at a time when Beijing is regarded as one of Washington’s most formidable geopolitical adversaries.
During the 2024 campaign, Harris’s decision to choose Walz as her running mate after Joe Biden bowed out under donor pressure only magnified those concerns.
Biden, weakened by questions about his mental fitness after a halting debate performance against Trump, stepped aside despite defenses from his allies. Harris and Walz went on to lose decisively, leaving Democrats to regroup.
Walz has also courted controversy with extreme left-wing his rhetoric. At a Labor Day picnic this year, he appeared to ‘joke’ about Trump’s possible death after the president avoided the public eye for several days. “Look I get it, you get up in the morning and you doom scroll through things, although I will say this, the last few days you woke up thinking there might be news,” Walz said. “Just saying, just saying, there will be news sometime, just so you know, there will be news.”
Republicans swiftly condemned the remarks, accusing Walz of mocking the president’s health and wishing for his death.
As he begins his reelection bid, Walz will likely lean on his record of expanding social programs. But his tenure is shadowed by unrest at home, defeat on the national stage, and a style of politics that has often inflamed rather than united.
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