He made his support for abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign. He also led the state through the unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. ![]() Walz led Minnesota through the COVID-19 pandemic - including lockdowns, school shutdowns and business closures. Report for America reporter Trisha Ahmed contributed.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Democrat Tim Walz won a second term as Minnesota’s governor on Tuesday, fending off a challenge by Republican Scott Jensen, a family practice physician who grabbed national attention with his vaccine skepticism. “I just don’t think those things were right.” I mean, the list goes on and on,” Thorberg said. He let people tear down statues at the Capitol. He told the National Guard to stand down at certain times. He also said Walz did “a terrible job” handling the unrest that followed George Floyd’s death. ![]() Thorberg, a project manager and a Navy veteran, said many of his friends and two of his children had to stop working when Walz ordered businesses to close during the coronavirus pandemic. He also said he disagreed with Jensen’s opposition to abortion.Įrik Thorberg, 47, a Republican voter in suburban Lakeville, backed Jensen in early voting Monday. “They say 20 to 30% of Republicans still believe the Big Lie … and I just think it’s not putting the country first.” “It just really makes me nervous,” Frid, a retired salesman, said. A self-identified independent, Frid said he backed every Democratic candidate on his ballot, and has been voting more Democratic in recent years - and especially since the Jan. Jensen also suggested that Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon might be jailed for his running of the state’s election system, despite no evidence of problems with state elections.Ĭhuck Frid, 80, of Mendota Heights, voted early in Dakota County. But he veered sharply to the right in the early days of the pandemic, not only criticizing the Walz administration’s response but also flirting with questionable treatments and the anti-vax movement. Jensen had a reputation as a sometimes-moderate maverick from suburban Chaska during his one term in the Minnesota Senate. He also blamed Walz for a massive $250 million fraud in a food aid program meant to feed schoolchildren during the pandemic, saying his administration missed chances to stop the fraud far sooner. But he argued that abortion wasn’t on the ballot - something Walz strongly disputed - and sought to draw voters’ attention instead to inflation and the rise in crime that followed Floyd’s murder. He eventually said he would accept exceptions for rape, incest and the life or health of the mother. Jensen supported a complete abortion ban early in the race, but then softened his position after coming under fire following the high court’s ruling. Walz made his support for abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign after the U.S. And we need to stop, we need to recalibrate, we need to ask ourselves: ‘OK, what can we learn from this? What can we do better? How do we go forward?’ ” “Republicans, quite frankly, we didn’t have a red wave. ![]() “Tim Walz is the governor for four more years,” he said. But early Wednesday, he acknowledged Walz’s victory. Jensen told supporters the election results were “disappointing” and didn’t immediately concede. To choose one that rejects the negative, divisive politics and chooses the whole path of each and every one of us to be the best we possibly can.” ![]() To choose a positive future, to choose one where our better days lie ahead. “Minnesotans made a conscious choice tonight. Well done,” Walz told cheering supporters in a voice hoarse from the home stretch on the campaign trail. “Well, Minnesota, democracy is alive and well in this state. Wade and after Democrats ran countless ads highlighting his stance. Jensen supported a complete ban early in the campaign, then softened his position after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. But he proved vulnerable on abortion, which remains legal in Minnesota. Jensen hammered Walz for rising crime, including failing to control damaging protests after Floyd’s death, and for what he called damaging shutdowns during the coronavirus. Democrat Tim Walz won a second term as Minnesota’s governor on Tuesday, fending off a challenge by Republican Scott Jensen, a family practice physician who grabbed national attention with his vaccine skepticism.
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