Former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka is publishing a new book about his experience working with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. A Republican, Gazelka served in the Minnesota Senate for 12 years and held the position of Senate majority leader for just over four and a half of those years.
During his time leading the Minnesota Senate, Gazelka had a front row seat to observe Gov. Walz’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 riots that occurred in Minneapolis, and many other facets of Walz’s time in office. As such, Gazelka has written a book documenting the “daily battles” he fought with Gov. Walz.
“Now that Governor Walz has been elevated to the national ticket, I believe I have a duty to inform the nation’s voters about Walz’s failed leadership record,” the former majority leader said in a statement. “For that reason, I moved up the release of my book that chronicles Walz’s missteps handling the pandemic, freezing under pressure during the George Floyd riots, mishandling the state budget and more.”
Dubbed “Behind the Veil: A Stand Against Governor Tim Walz,” Gazelka’s book will be released on Amazon on Sept. 18.
Last month, Walz was selected by Vice President Kamala Harris to become her running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Since joining the national Democratic ticket, Walz’s record as governor has received more scrutiny than ever before. In turn, Minnesotans from across the state have spoken out nationally about Walz’s tenure as governor.
According to a press release announcing the release of Gazelka’s book, “the most compelling passages in the book detail the conversations Gazelka had via text with Walz” when the 2020 riots in Minneapolis were occurring.
“I saw these crisis moments and how Governor Walz handled them firsthand, up front, from my position in government, and people in this nation need to know about it,” Gazelka said in his statement about the book.
In 2021, Gazelka resigned his position as majority leader of the Minnesota Senate and ran for governor of Minnesota in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial election. After failing to receive the GOP endorsement at the Minnesota Republican Party’s state convention, Gazelka dropped out of the race.
Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state legislator who won the GOP endorsement that year, went on to lose the 2022 gubernatorial election to Gov. Walz by nearly 8 points.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
