One of Minnesota’s leading Republicans reacted to Gov. Tim Walz becoming the Democratic candidate for vice president by saying she views it as an opportunity to shine a national spotlight on his record ahead of crucial local elections in November.
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, joined Liz Collin Reports this week.
“I can’t say that it’s a complete surprise, but yet when we look at Gov. Walz and his record over his time as governor of Minnesota, this is not a partisan position that I have, but I have some grave concerns about it. We know that the Harris-Walz ticket would be the most extreme presidential ticket in history, not just because of what has been said by the vice president, but more by what has been done by Gov. Walz,” Demuth said.
Demuth noted that she doesn’t think most people know about Walz’s real record.
“As we’ve known over the last six years with Gov. Walz, we have tried to shed light on some of his positions, on some of the things that he’s signed into law, and especially the fraud. We’ve tried to shine light and we really struggle with getting that message out across the state. People aren’t necessarily hearing it from typical sources that they would have relied on in the past,” Demuth said.
“We have rampant fraud across so many areas, Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Education, we have the Feeding Our Future fraud, we also have the frontline worker fraud, we have a new unemployment fraud. We have concerns over autism spending and services there. Minnesotans weren’t really aware of it.
“I would say with Walz joining the Harris ticket, the benefit of that right now is there is a national spotlight being shown on Minnesota. We have that chance to tell the story of what we have experienced as Minnesotans under Gov. Walz’s leadership, letting Minneapolis burn, the defund the police movement, unsustainable energy ideas. Again, our kids are not performing as they should in school. They’re not at grade level,” Demuth continued.
She also commented on another critical election—the Minnesota House—as all 134 seats are up for re-election. Republicans remain optimistic that Minnesotans would like to see the return of divided government.
“We’re looking forward to that. Under full one-party Democrat control in the state of Minnesota, what we have seen happen to our state, $18 billion of surplus that was spent and not returned to the taxpayers, $10 billion of taxes and fees again raised. We know that is problematic, in addition to all the mandates that have been put on schools and businesses,” she said.
“We need to hold 64 seats and only gain four for that majority,” she added.
For anyone sitting on the political sidelines, the minority leader urged people to get involved as the state is just a few days away from the Aug. 13 primary.
“We need people voting … and after that early voting for the November election starts Sept. 20. I would encourage people to vote. Go ahead and vote early and bank that vote, because once you bank that vote, you can make sure that your friends and neighbors are planning on voting. You can tell them, ‘I’ve already done it. It was a simple process.’ It’s legal here in the state of Minnesota, and we have to take full advantage of that,” she said.
She also encouraged voters to “fact check.”
“Fact check the smooth talk that you hear from the full one-party Democrat control in the state of Minnesota. When you hear things that sound great, fact check them. Are you getting the full story? Do you understand the unintended consequences? Does it support where you line up in your values and are those values being voted on by the people that we’re electing to office? That’s how people can get involved and we really need people to be involved, specifically in this election.”
Liz Collin
Liz Collin has been a truth-teller for 20 years as a multi-Emmy-Award-winning reporter and anchor. Liz is a Worthington, Minnesota native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, son and loyal lab.
