Latest news with #TimWalz
CBS News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Scott Jensen, unsuccessful 2022 challenger, announces another run for Minnesota governor
Scott Jensen, the Minnesota gubernatorial nominee who lost the 2022 election to incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, announced Thursday he will run for the office again. The Republican launched his 2026 campaign with the slogan, "We want our Minnesota back." "We remember the days when our communities were safe, our schools were strong, and our leaders put people—not politics—first," Jensen said. "That's the Minnesota we're going to fight to bring back." Jensen and running mate Matt Birk, a former Minnesota Viking, lost to Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan by nearly 8 percentage points in 2022. In that campaign, the Republicans made key the issues of abortion, Walz's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Feeding Our Future fraud. Then-former President Donald Trump endorsed Jensen, though his campaign said he did not actively seek Trump's approval. Walz, meanwhile, earned the endorsements of former President Barack Obama and ex-Gov. Jesse Ventura. Walz and Flanagan finished with 52.27% of the vote, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State, while Jensen and Birk earned 44.61% — a margin of more than 192,000 votes. Jensen, a doctor and former state senator, alleged in a lawsuit the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice illegally investigated him due to his COVID-19 views. The lawsuit was dismissed in federal court earlier this year, and Jensen has appealed. Walz, who unsuccessfully ran on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2024 with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, has not announced his intentions for the 2026 race for governor. Flanagan formally announced earlier this year she will run for the U.S. Senate next year.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Tim Walz questions why Democrats come off like they're against people being successful
Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz wondered why the Democratic Party comes off like it's against people being successful, during a podcast interview on Thursday. Walz said that President Donald Trump was able to capture "this idea of wealth and being able to be successful," during a conversation with former DNC chair Jaime Harrison on his podcast, "At Our Table." "We, as Democrats, we want people to pay their fair share, but why are we against people being successful like that? We can't be. Why are we against? We should talk about businesses. Not all businesses exploit their workers and we get ourselves stuck in that. And I think we lose them," Walz continued. Walz and Harrison also talked about what occurred with young Black voters in 2024, citing a discussion Walz had with Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., who said a lot of "good-hearted politicians" go into Black communities and talk about restoring voting rights to felons. "And he said, not knowing how insulting that is for these young men to say, 'Look, I'm just looking for capital because I'm an entrepreneur. I got my JD from Georgetown, and I'd like to kind of do this. I'm thinking about starting this.' Where you're missing the point about, why are we narrowing it that it's about prison reform?" Walz said. Harrison also said he had gone head-to-head with people who are judgmental based on where or who people work for. Both Harrison and Walz insisted that the Democratic Party was stronger on the economy and better for businesses. "Look, the business community is finding [out] right now how bad a businessman Donald Trump is, crapping on the economy, you know, tariffs back and forth, threatening businesses," Walz said. The Minnesota governor went on to say "shame on you" to members of the business community who continue to support the president. "Can you imagine threatening individual businesses, saying, 'you're going to do this, or I'm going to do this,' as a leader? If you're in the business community, shame on you for supporting this guy still," Walz added. Walz argued that the Democratic Party should embrace being the party of "pro-business." "We're just simply talking about all businesses. What we don't want is monopolies. We don't want corruption. We don't want the folks that are preying on the communities that are bad actors, but we have this reputation that the business community is somewhat hands-off from us," he said. At a Center for American Progress (CAP) event in June, Walz suggested China might be the voice of "moral authority" following Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leaders.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Accused Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter indicted on federal murder charges over Democrat shootings
A man indicted Tuesday on charges he fatally shot the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband, and wounded another lawmaker and his wife, confessed to the crimes in a rambling handwritten letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, but didn't say why he targeted the couples, prosecutors said. Vance Boelter also wrote in the letter that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had approached him about killing the state's two US senators, fellow Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. Asked by a reporter if all that was a fantasy, acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson replied: 'Yes, I agree.' 'There is little evidence showing why he turned to political violence and extremism,' Thompson said. 'What he left were lists: politicians in Minnesota, lists of politicians in other states, lists of names of attorneys at national law firms.' The indictment handed up murder, stalking and firearms charges against Boelter. The murder counts in the deaths of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, could carry the federal death penalty. The indictment also charged Boelter with shooting and wounding a state senator and his wife, and attempting to shoot their adult daughter. Thompson said a decision on whether to seek the death penalty 'will not come for several months' and will be up to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Minnesota abolished its state death penalty in 1911, but President Donald Trump's administration says it intends to be aggressive in seeking capital punishment for eligible federal crimes. Prosecutors initially charged Boelter with the same six counts, but under federal court rules they needed a grand jury indictment to take the case to trial. His arraignment, where he could enter a plea, will probably be scheduled for later in the week, Thompson said Boelter's federal defender, Manny Atwal, did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the indictment and the new allegations. Thompson also disclosed new details at a news conference. He said investigators had found the handwritten letter, which was addressed to the FBI chief, in a car Boelter abandoned near his home. 'In the letter, Vance Boelter claims that he had been trained by the U.S. military off the books and he had conducted missions on behalf of the U.S. military in Asia, the Middle East and Africa,' Thompson said. The letter doesn't specifically say though why he targeted the Hortmans and Hoffmans. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views who had been struggling to find work. At a hearing on July 3, Boelter said he was 'looking forward to the facts about the 14th coming out.' In an interview published by the New York Post on Saturday, Boelter insisted the shootings had nothing to do with his opposition to abortion or his support for Trump, but he declined to discuss why he allegedly killed the Hortmans and wounded the Hoffmans. 'You are fishing and I can´t talk about my case...I´ll say it didn´t involve either the Trump stuff or pro life,' Boelter wrote in a message to the newspaper via the jail´s messaging system. Boelter also faces state murder and attempted murder charges in Hennepin County, but the federal case will go first. Prosecutors say Boelter, 57, who has lived in rural Sibley County south of Minneapolis, was disguised as a police officer, driving a fake squad car, wearing a realistic rubber mask and wearing tactical gear around 2am on June 14 when he went to the home of Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin. He allegedly shot the senator nine times, and Yvette Hoffman eight times, but they survived. He also allegedly tried to kill their adult daughter, Hope, but they pushed her out of the way and she was not hit. Prosecutors allege he then stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers. One wasn't home while a police officer may have scared him off from the other target. Boelter then allegedly went to the Hortmans' home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed both of them. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized. Brooklyn Park police, who had been alerted to the shootings of the Hoffmans, arrived at the Hortman home around 3:30am, moments before the gunman opened fire on the couple, court documents said. Boelter allegedly fled and left behind his car, which contained notebooks listing dozens of Democratic officials as potential targets with their home addresses, as well as five guns and a large quantity of ammunition. Thompson said the gun used to shoot the Hoffmans was found near the Hortman home, while the gun used to shoot the Hortmans was recovered from a pond near their home a few days later. Law enforcement officers finally captured Boelter about 40 hours later, about a mile from his rural home in Green Isle, after what authorities called the largest search for a suspect in state history. Senator Hoffman is out of the hospital and is now at a rehabilitation facility, his family announced last week, adding he has a long road to recovery. Yvette Hoffman was released a few days after the attack. Hope Hoffman said in a statement Tuesday that she was relieved that Boelter will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 'Though I was not shot physically, I will now forever coexist with the PTSD of watching my parents be nearly shot dead in front of me and seeing my life flash before my eyes with a gun in my face,' she said. Hortman led the House from 2019 until January and was a driving force as Democrats passed an ambitious list of liberal priorities in 2023. She yielded the speakership to a Republican in a power-sharing deal after the November elections left the House tied, and she took the title speaker emerita.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tim Walz's South Dakota visit focuses on hope for Dems, ‘petty' jabs for Noem, Rhoden
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has a message for South Dakota Democrats: Don't give up hope. He also had a few wisecracks to sling at the state's supermajority party. The South Dakota Democratic Party hosted Walz during their annual McGovern Day dinner July 12 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. The event honors the legacy of the late George McGovern, an American politician who represented the state for 18 years in the U.S. Senate. Walz was welcomed to the dinner party as the keynote speaker, preceded by the party's Vice Chair Jessica Meyer, Chair Shane Merrill, and State Sen. Minority Leader Liz Larson, of Sioux Falls. In red South Dakota, a state with one of the largest Republican supermajorities in the U.S., Walz focused his message on the idea of "hope." But it wasn't solely hope that the Democratic Party should rely on, Walz added, pulling from his personal experience as former Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate during their unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid. More: Potential for gold mine in Black Hills near Lead, South Dakota "You can't hope you're going to win," Walz told the dinner attendees. "You can't hope that [Donald] Trump goes away. You can't hope that you do this. You have to work for it." The Minnesota governor's speech comes as South Dakota's Democratic representation in the state shrinks. There are currently nine Democrats in the state Legislature — six in the House, three in the Senate — compared with the 95 Republicans between both chambers. That's down from 11 Democrats in 2022 and 16 in 2020. The state Democrats' single-digit hold in the Legislature stands in stark contrast, as well, to the party's 35-seat hold in 2008. That's why, Walz said, his blue neighbors to the west have to "win the hard races." That means winning county chair seats, school board elections and mayoral races. Walz's appearance also comes almost a month after State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed at their home. "We are reeling in Minnesota," Walz said. "The murder of Melissa Hortman is a wound that is going to take a long time and will never truly heal. But I have shared with all of you: Not only was this an incredible person -- smart, funny, talented -- she was a singular legislator who understood not just where we were going, but how to get there. And for all of you who are out here and know the tragedy of this, the way you honor that is run for office." The Democratic Party, in general, is in "a hell of a pickle," Walz said. Compared with his successful 2006 upset for a Minnesota U.S. House seat, when Walz was a "teacher with no money," today's Democrats have a harder time winning elections without necessary funding. "You can't get elected if you're a teacher or a small business owner or a nurse or retired if you don't have infrastructure to make it happen," Walz said. Walz also spoke to a messaging problem the party is facing, with some Democratic areas in the Midwest having shifted Republican over time. In this, Walz bemoaned the conservative tilt, asking out loud, "How did we lose those people?" before saying the party's policies haven't been delivered "in a way that they were able to employ." More: South Dakota supports ban on China owning US farmland But throughout Walz's call for uplifting conservatives into the Democratic fold and driving progressive policies, the former teacher spent time heckling South Dakota's former and current Republican leadership and lampooning the state's cultural and political identity. Kristi Noem, former South Dakota governor, now-secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, whom Walz worked alongside while both served in the U.S. House of Representatives, was his first target. Walz joked it would be "really tough" to make the trip to South Dakota because he "had to decide what [he] was going to wear." "When you're coming and you're in South Dakota, do you dress as a fireman? Do you dress as a cowboy?" Walz said, referencing Noem's donning of firefighting gear at a U.S. Coast Guard training facility and similar field attire when meeting with various groups. Walz also cracked that he didn't bring his dog, Scout, "for obvious reasons." Noem had written in a 2024 memoir a controversial account in which she shot and killed a 14-month-old hunting dog that disrupted a pheasant hunt more than 20 years ago. She also put down a goat that she stated smelled "wretched." The comments were petty, Walz concluded. But he refused to apologize, saying, "Some people just bring out the petty in me." Noem was particularly vexing, as Walz said he couldn't "rectify in [his] mind" how the former U.S. representative became the head of South Dakota. "If you picked someone who's the antithesis of the South Dakota I know, it would be that," Walz said of Noem. Walz also poked at South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, who succeeded Noem after she took the secretary job in Trump's Cabinet. In a weekly column posted on the state's official news page, Rhoden wrote a passage celebrating South Dakota as "the freest state in America," which he stated provides "stronger 2nd Amendment protections than any other state." Rhoden related the state's gun laws to a mock shootout he observed at 1880 Town near Midland, which Walz mocked. "He said he did that because he wants you to know, as those pioneers have the ability to use their firearms to protect themselves, he wants South Dakota to be able to do that today," Walz said. "Who's gonna tell him that's pretend? It's Hollywood. My God. That's the No. 1 concern of the people of South Dakota is that he went to 1880s Day and watched a shoot out?" As far as South Dakota being the "freest" state, Walz said he "ran into an OBGYN that says that's not true." "The people discriminating against others are never the good guys in this," Walz said. "And that arc of the moral universe bends, but I would argue we need to get a little bit more aggressive and help that damn thing bend. Start pulling it in our direction and start making a difference because there are millions of Americans out there, many of them who voted the other way, who need us to bend that part for them." Walz pointed to his own wins in Minnesota as examples of liberal achievements, such as the state recording its highest graduation of high school seniors in 2025, and the Minnesota Legislature's passing of a 2023 bill to provide breakfasts and lunches to students at no cost to them. "I think making the case to folks in a more … proud, Democratic way is our policies that we're advocating for are very, very popular," Walz said. South Dakota Democrats had their own recent successes, Larson noted. Between blocking "bad bills on school vouchers, on criminalizing librarians and on bills that fan the flames of distracting culture wars" and pushing for public education, environmental policies and accessible healthcare, Larson said the current cohort of Democrats in Pierre are "small, but mighty." "We're speaking for the soul of our state," Larson said. "Now, I'm not going to tell you that we're going to flip South Dakota blue tomorrow, but we are growing … we are organizing and we are running stronger candidates every year. Because the point is progress. And what is the alternative? The alternative is giving up and letting the voices of South Dakota go silent and letting (the) other party turn South Dakota into something that we are not." In that vein, Walz said the party as a whole needs to take on a "50-state strategy" and not "leave these candidates for Senate in South Dakota or the House or the governor" behind. But Walz also criticized the limited broadcast of modern Democrats' "positive message of progressive change." Reflecting on the Harris-Walz campaign, the ex-vice presidential candidate said the ticket's strategy of maintaining the Blue Wall — states that have consistently voted Democrat — meant that said message went unheard in rural communities. "It was mostly heard in seven states, and it wasn't heard in Gregory, South Dakota," Walz said. "If you're afraid to go into any legion hall or any small restaurant and proudly talk about what our platform is, maybe we're not as proud as we should be about our policies." This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz brings message to South Dakota Democrats
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Suspected Minnesota assassin teases motive for shootings as he whines about prison conditions
The suspected Minnesota assassin revealed the gruesome murders had nothing to do with President Donald Trump as he complained about the conditions he is experiencing in jail. Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of gunning down Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on June 14 and attempting to kill Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home that same day. Now, nearly a month after the horrid slayings, Boelter - who was appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the state's Workforce Development Council in 2019 - has shared his thoughts on the case against him as he whined about being held in a cell, 'not fit to live in.' He made it clear that the murders were not driven by Trump, but did not exactly specify the motive behind them. 'You are fishing and I can't talk about my case…I'll say it didn't involve either the Trump stuff or pro-life,' he told the New York Post in written messages and video chats. 'I am pro-life personaly [sic] but it wasn't those,' Boelter said from his cell inside Sherburne County Jail in Elk River - about 30 miles outside of Minneapolis - on Friday. 'I will just say there is a lot of information that will come out in future that people will look at and judge for themselves that goes back 24 months before the 14th. If the gov ever let's [sic] it get out.' His statements are his first public words, outside of court hearings, following his arrest after he surrendered to officers on June 15 - bringing an end to a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge. He further told the outlet that critical details in the one-and-a-half page letter he allegedly wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel were shared with the public. Boelter, who was seen porting a yellow prison jumpsuit, asked: 'Can I ask what you heard as an outside person about the note that the alleged person — I'll say alleged person — left in that car, did you hear anything about that?' A letter purportedly written by Boleter,which has not been released to the public, was found in a Buick he left near his home and allegedly contains a confession to the Hortman murders and the attempted killing of the Hoffman's. In it, the author wildly claimed that Walz ordered him to kill Senator Amy Klobuchar so that Democratic vice presidental candidate could steal her job. 'Certain details of that letter were leaked out that probably painted one kind of a picture, but a lot more important details that were in that letter were not leaked out,' he told the outlet. He refused to specify more about the letter, but said the details pertained to 'things that were going on in Minnesota'. 'I also made sure when I was arrested that they secured that letter — I made the request that they secure that letter before it gets destroyed — because I was concerned somebody would destroy it,' Boelter continued. In addition to the letter, authorities discovered flyers for the 'No Kings' anti-Trump rallies scheduled the same days as the murders, and a hit list of 70 other politicians, including Walz and abortion providers in the state. He went on to say that he is a Trump supporter, but refused to clarify his feelings toward Walz. When asked about how he feels toward the victims and their families, Boelter, an ordained minister, turned to his Christian faith. 'I forgot which verse it was.. but I've always followed that,' he said. 'You can maybe ask…if somebody believes that, and they love God and that they love their neighbor…allegedly, how could they be involved in a situation where some people are no longer here that were here before? He added: 'I'll let you chew on that one.' The father-of-four also mentioned how his family has been affected since the shocking incident. 'I talked to my wife for two minutes shortly after my arrest and then the call was cut off. Nothing since then,' he detailed. 'My wife and family had nothing to do with any of this. They were all shocked like others.' His wife, Jenny Boelter, released a statement through her lawyers, calling her husband's alleged actions 'a betrayal'. She also said she did not try to flee after he committed the alleged crimes. 'On behalf of my children and myself, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the Hortman and Hoffman families. Our condolences are with all who are grieving during this unimaginably difficult time, and we are praying daily for them,' she wrote. 'We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided. This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family. It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith. 'We are appalled and horrified by what occurred and our hearts are incredibly heavy for the victims of this unfathomable tragedy.' Boelter also shared the alleged horrid conditions he has been enduring in jail. 'My immune system is failing because I am being held in a booking cell that's not made to live in,' Boelter said. '[I] wasn't issued cloths [sic] for almost 3 weeks. Lights never shut off. Sleep on plastic pad on concrete floor. 'I'm not allowed to be around or talk to anyone except the guards.' Daily Mail contacted Sherburne County Jail officials and the FBI for comment, but did not hear back in time for this report. Boelter is accused of posing as a police officer during the shootings. He is also said to have worn a terrifying Halloween-style face mask during the attacks. Acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson announced six new federal charges against Boelter for murder, stalking, and shooting offenses - while revealing that he went to two other lawmakers' homes with the intent to kill them that day. Both Yvette and the senator were left injured. She was released in late June while her husband remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition. John was shot nine times while his bride was shot eight times. A bullet narrowly missed his heart, KARE 11 reported.
