Reports are coming out this morning that Tim Walz is dropping out of his run for a third term as governor. Shockingly enough, it appears that the blame is falling on everyone else but him and that the rampant, multi billion dollar frauds that happened on his watch have nothing to do with his withdrawal. I can't wait to see who will become the DFL candidate now.
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It would have been interesting to see how much support from MN voters he'd have gotten were he to run again. I would imagine it would be an unsurprisingly significant amount given the stupidity it took to elect him governor in the first place.
I wonder how much of this is choice and how much of it is actually party pressure given the enormity of this fraud scandal. The part will want a new face the faithful will separate from it all. Does MN have a GOP which is worth a damn? Aside from a few individual, the IL GOP has long been impotent and incompetent.
There are a couple of factors to this conversation.
The first is whether or not there would have been a DFL candidate who would run against Walz horrible record and on a platform to reform the state and return to sanity. I think that this would have given the DFL the fig leaf needed to vote against him in the primary, but who knows how successful that would be in the general.
He's definitely blaming everyone but himself, but it's clear that he knows that the fraud and mismanagement would be a millstone around his neck in a general election. Not to mention the new fraud-for-all leave law that just went into effect.
The MN GOP has it's moments. The fact that we currently have a tie in the legislature indicates some traction. We're also seeing the Iron Range continue to flip conservative because the DFL wants to destroy the economy up there. I think that the key will be who wins the GOP primary. If it's the pillow guy or someone who's "far right" (at least for up here), it won't go well. If it's someone who comes across as slightly more mainstream, there's a decent chance of a GOP win. Especially as the scope of the fraud continues to grow.
The unknown is who will replace Walz as the front runner. If they put up the crazy Somali guy that almost won the Mayor's race (despite acknowledged fraud in his nomination process) then I think that the GOP can win. If they put up someone who can at least sound like they're going to reform the system and punish the fraud, who knows.
Given the general character of the typical voter, any challenger to Walz would have to bring receipts the voters couldn't dismiss, assuming they're paying attention to the challenger at all. That's unlikely in the best of situations, but one would hope it would be more so in situations like these. I don't know if this dude was up for reelection after the Floyd riots, but if that was the case, then it's hard to believe he couldn't run again and be elected.
Is he really smart enough to know that the scandal puts him in a bad light with voters? Do any Dem candidates have such introspection?
If, and this might be a big if, Klobuchar runs for governor it might be a done deal. As we know Klobuchar has presidential aspirations, it makes sense to get some executive experience. However, she'd actually have to clean up the Walz mess to get traction as a presidential candidate.
As usual, it'll be up to the middle of the electorate and whether or not they are annoyed enough with the fraud and mismanagement to vote GOP just for a change. Which has also happened before.
His statement makes it pretty clear that he understands the damage the fraud has done to his brand, but it's equally clear that he's more upset at the people who have made it a national issue than he is at those who've been stealing from the hungry and sick.
I also think that he realizes that the new leave law is going to be scrutinized heavily and any problems will be laid at his feet, as well as this being the best way for him to avoid responsibility for the disastrous fiscal shape the state is in.
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