Embattled Governor Tim Walz ends his campaign for a third term as Minnesota's Governor.

 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. New York Post/Reuters/

Embattled Governor Tim Walz has ended his campaign for a third term as Minnesota's Governor in the wake of the Somali fraud scandal. New York Post. Walz said he could win if he could focus on the race, but said he needed to focus on fraud. He also blamed President Trump and "right wing YouTubers", apparently referencing Nick Shirley. Shirley's video went viral, bringing a hard focus onto the fraud from the Somali community that has cost Minnesota taxpayers billions of dollars. Despite most of the fraud coming from Somali immigrants, Walz defended them saying Trump was "demonizing them". 

My Comment:

Looks like I was correct that the Somali fraud scandal was the end of Tim Walz and his political career. He is essentially being pushed out of the race. I can't imagine that he wasn't under extreme pressure from both the Minnesota DFL party and the National Democrats to drop out.

If Walz had won? Then Republicans were almost certain to win the Minnesota Governor's race. Minnesota is seen as a blue state but it's really closer to a purple one and I think a similar dynamic could have come into play here as it did in Virginia when Glenn Youngkin got elected. Youngkin was able to use genuine outrage over the trans bathroom scandal to get elected, and a similar candidate could have done the same thing in Minnesota. 

That narrative isn't completely dead now, but it faces a greater challenge. If the rumors are true and Amy Klobuchar is going to be the candidate for Governor than the Republicans would face an actual battle instead of the landslide they would have gotten with Tim Walz. Amy Klobuchar is fairly popular and the stink of the Somali scandal isn't going to stick to her as much as it would Tim Walz, given he was, at the very least, in power when it happened, assuming he wasn't directly involved. 

Candidate quality is a real problem though for Republicans. Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy has declared and I can't think of a worse candidate for a state like Minnesota. Though I would prefer Lindell to win given how loyal he is to Trump, I think the GOP would be wise to run someone more like Glenn Youngkin, someone more moderate and in the center. If that happens, I think there is still a real chance of the Republicans winning the state, though probably not keeping it long term. 

As for Tim Walz, he's done. The real questions now are if he finishes his last term or if he avoids criminal charges for his role in the Somali Fraud scandal. I have always said that Walz was just too stupid to actually be involved in fraud or other various crimes but I am starting to wonder if I was wrong about that. The fraud in Minnesota was so widespread that he had to have at least some knowledge of it. And it's also clear that his party was absolutely benefitting from the fraud. 

We also have to consider that Walz was possibly personally benefiting from this fraud. Indeed, we might even have to reexamine the claims from Vance Bolter, the assassin of a couple of Democratic State Senators in the state, that Walz ordered him to do so. That still seems to be the rantings of a madman, but if Walz was involved in the fraud, it's not that much of a leap. I still think he has a strong defense, he's simply too incompetent to order a hit or be involved in fraud. If there were any evidence of him being directly involved in fraud or the assassinations, he would not be able to cover it up, he's just that dumb. 

It also boggles my mind that Tim Walz was chosen for being Kamala Harris' VP candidate. It's like they didn't vet him at all, had they done so they would have realized that Minnesota has huge problems and that he just wasn't a good candidate. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was right there, but they couldn't pick him because he is Jewish. Walz did nothing to help Harris and may have actually been a downside given how incompetent he comes off as. 

What would be hilarious is the idea that Walz could end up running for President in 2028. I guess it's possible if ends his term without resigning in disgrace, or ending up in prison. He would have no serious chance of being the candidate, even considering the weak field that the Democrats have, but sometimes you run just in increase your public profile so you can get on the speech circuit. But that's the best case scenario for Walz and I think now the most likely scenario is that he is left as a historical footnote as Kamal Harris' VP candidate, which is saying something because she's going to be a footnote as well.