From sadness to relief, reaction to Walz announcement reverberates across Minnesota
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Reaction to the stunning news of DFL Gov. Tim Walz’s announcement Monday that he would no longer seek an unprecedented third term varied widely among voters around the state. Some Minnesotans expressed disappointment and highlighted his accomplishments, while others focused on the mounting fraud scandals that have plagued the state’s social service programs under the governor’s watch.
In his announcement, Walz defended his record on the fraud issue, saying his administration has made “systemic changes to the way we do business,” cut off funding streams when it saw criminal activity, and has placed “new locks on the doors of our remaining programs.”
But those actions weren’t enough to appease people like Stephanie Bajzer, a 71-year-old retired pharmacist in Rochester.
“I think he should exit, because I don’t think this fraud that was happening under his watch was good for anybody, especially not for taxpayers,” Bajzr said.
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Pam Millen, 71, of Zumbrota, said she was disappointed to hear that Walz would not be seeking a third term, saying she believes he’s a man of integrity.
“It’s just really hard, I mean, to lose somebody like that who’s done so much for our state,” Millen said. “He made a mistake by not checking on these people that were embezzling this, all this money.”
“Minnesota has an extreme fraud problem,” said Stuart Carleton, a 75-year-old Vietnam veteran from outside Mankato who describes himself as an “ultra extreme middle of the roader.”
Carleton said he was not disappointed to see Walz bow out of a campaign for a third term, calling the governor an “opportunist.”
Robert Bigwood, 69, an attorney in Fergus Falls, also believes Walz made the right decision in backing away from a run for a third term.
“There are some serious issues with his administration and how they've handled the allegations of fraud, and it's the right thing for him to do. I think that the problems with the administration of funds in Minnesota has been quite scandalous,” said Bigwood.
When asked how big a problem he feels fraud is in the state, Bigwood answered that each day he’s “becoming more and more amazed at how big a problem it is. In Minnesota, we have had a tradition of good governance, and it has seemed to have vanished,” he said.
Viral video
Several people interviewed by MPR News reporters around the state referred to fraud allegations recently made against several Somali-owned child care centers highlighted in a viral video made by right-wing content creator Nick Shirley.
That video prompted calls for an investigation, a freezing of federal funds by the Trump administration and, since it went viral, several of the child care centers reported getting an increase in violent threats. On Monday afternoon state officials said they are conducting on-site compliance checks with child care providers that receive federal Child Care Assistance funds, and thus far, investigators say the child care centers were operating as expected.
Evan Lundgren, an 18-year old construction worker in Fergus Falls, said he was happy to hear of Walz’s decision to not seek a third term, because of “the fraud going on with Somalians and trying to get them out of our state, just pretty much protecting people that don’t belong here.”
“I definitely want to get the immigration down and see our tax money go to better places, other than things that don’t matter, like daycare centers that aren’t real,” Lundgren added.
But 80-year old Mike Symons of Peterson, southeast of Rochester, said he had heard the viral video was fraudulent. “So how do you sort that out? I don’t know,” he asked.
Symons said he wants Minnesota’s next governor to recognize the fact that the United States is a multicultural country.
“Somebody needs to stand up for that. So I hope whoever comes along to run for governor has the fortitude and horsepower to do that,” Symons said.
Onsay Hampton, a 29-year old event planner who lives in downtown St. Paul, shared a similar sentiment. She acknowledged that fraud is a serious issue, but said she’s looking for a governor who “understands language barriers, cultural barriers, somebody that can use their position to actually… bring people together.”
Supporters saddened
Millen, while disappointed to hear that Walz was not running for reelection, acknowledged he was too trusting of people who were charged or convicted with defrauding the state of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“He made a mistake by not checking on these people,” she said. “But he's an honest man. He's a good man. He's done a lot for our state. So I think President Trump got to him, you know. It was really a big uphill battle for him.”
Deb Bartels is another Walz supporter who acknowledged fraud was a big issue. The 74-year old from St. Paul is volunteering to help a refugee family from Afghanistan. So she understands that benefits are important, she said.
“But I also think that there’s certain people that take advantage of that and misuse those benefits, so I just think better oversight is needed,” Bartels said.
Bartels doesn’t blame Walz for that lack of oversight. She says Walz is a good governor whose reputation has been damaged by the fraud scandals.
“So I’m sad he’s gone, but I think it’s good if we want to maintain Democratic control of the state,” she added.
Walz will also be missed by Minnesota’s tribal nations, said Melanie Benjamin, who served as tribal chairperson for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe from 2000 to 2024.
“We have a very good and strong relationship with the Office of the Governor,” said Benjamin. “The governor has been to every reservation in the state of Minnesota, and he has set the standard very high in how you deal with tribal governments in the state of Minnesota.”
Time for change
Darren Voigt, a 47-year old farmer from near Taopi, in southern Minnesota, said after nearly eight years of Walz in office, it’s time for a change.
“I don’t personally feel that he’s done anything to benefit Minnesota as a whole,” Voigt said. “I don’t feel like he looks out for the farmer. I guess there’s just too many negatives without any positives to back it up.”
During the last election cycle Walz campaigned on a “One Minnesota” platform, promising to support families across the entire state. Voigt said he felt that too much emphasis was placed on the Twin Cities.
That desire for unity – or at least a willingness to work together across political divides – might be one sentiment that brings Minnesotans together across the state in the wake of Walz’s announcement.
“I think his M.O. was not about division, and I’d like to see the next leaders come in and try to continue that work,” said Eric Kjolhaug, 65, of Duluth.
“Rather than the blaming and all that stuff that’s going on from both sides,” said Kjolhaug. “I‘d love to see somebody that’s more focused on trying to put it all back together again, because that’s the only way it’s going to work.”
MPR News reporters Hannah Yang, Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval, Cait Kelley, Nicole Ki, Molly Castle Work and Mathew Holding Eagle III contributed to this story.
