MN governor race debate: Tim Walz and Scott Jensen went at it in Rochester on Tuesday

Dave Orrick, Pioneer Press
Updated ·6 min read
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican challenger Scott Jensen sparred for an hour Tuesday night in Rochester in the only televised debate the two are scheduled to have.

In what was the most spirited interaction between the two men to date, the rapid-paced debate touched on a kaleidoscope of issues over the past four years and likely the next, from rioting and looting following the murder of George Floyd to bureaucratic distinctions in health care policies.

Throughout the campaign — and on Tuesday night — the thrust of each man’s message has been consistent:

Jensen casts Walz as a far-left governor who was heavy-handed during the COVID-19 pandemic, weak during the 2020 riots and ensuing crime wave, and has acted as kin to President Joe Biden, who is suffering from low approval ratings amid high inflation.

Walz casts himself as the “last line of defense” against an abortion ban, a supporter of both police reform and spending more on police, and as presiding over a booming state economy with historically low unemployment. On several times Tuesday night, he harked back to his previous careers as a teacher and member of the Minnesota National Guard, while reminding those watching that he was the state’s top executive during an unprecedented stretch of upheaval that began with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, closing with a reprise of his 2018 campaign slogan, “One Minnesota.”

Walz casts Jensen as a right-wing extremist who has spread COVID misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories over the 2020 election, and wants to cut education funding and reduce abortion access.

Jensen casts himself as a fresh breath of common sense into a Democratic-controlled executive branch that squanders taxpayer money through waste and fraud. Looking directly at the camera, the one-time Minnesota family physician of the year sought to employ his bedside manner, describing himself as a “measured person” and declaring, “Clearly, we’re not ‘One Minnesota.’ ”

NO TWIN CITIES TV

The debate was held inside a studio at KTTC-TV and aired on a series of greater Minnesota television stations owned by Gray Television. Twin Cities residents could only watch the event via a livestream. There was no live audience for the debate. Only one other debate remains: Oct. 23, hosted by Minnesota Public Radio.

All that — only two debates in the final two months, no live audiences and nothing broadcast live on a metro TV station — were the result of Walz not agreeing to more debates, which Jensen wanted.

That’s a common dynamic for a challenger to an incumbent, and it’s typified much of the campaign thus far: Jensen and his running mate, former NFL star and St. Paul native Matt Birk, have sought attention for their criticisms of Walz, hosting frequent news conferences, while Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have generally run a quieter campaign, enjoying the pulpit of incumbency to keep much of their public schedules reserved for official government events.

But that doesn’t mean the campaign hasn’t been fierce. Independent Walz-aligned groups, most notably Alliance for a Better Minnesota, have blanketed airwaves with ads attacking Jensen. The most frequent attacks have been over abortion, and the issue came up early in Tuesday’s debate.

ABORTION

Jensen’s position on abortion shifted after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Dobbs decision over the summer, which overturned Roe v. Wade and struck down the idea that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. That leaves abortion regulations — or rights — entirely in the hand of each state.

Currently in Minnesota, the right to an abortion is guaranteed. However, like the previous federal guarantee, that’s only because the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that way; a future court could overturn that, abortion rights groups note. No one person can change Minnesota’s abortion landscape, but the governor has the ability to sign — or veto — a bill that could seek to strengthen — or weaken — Minnesota’s laws. And the governor fills any vacancy on the state Supreme Court until that justice stands for election.

Jensen’s opposition to abortion is well documented, and as recently as May, he told Minnesota Public Radio that he didn’t support exceptions for rape or incest unless the mother’s life was in danger. In July, he reversed that stance, saying in a video, “I never thought it necessary to try and identify what those exceptions might be in regards to legal abortion or not, because I always thought when I uphold the pregnant woman’s life, and if her mental and physical health is in danger or jeopardized, that’s all that needs to be said.”

The quick summary of abortion in the governor’s race is this: Walz says — as he did Tuesday night — “abortion is on the ballot,” while Jensen says — as he did Tuesday night — “abortion is not on the ballot” and nothing will change any time soon regarding abortion rights in Minnesota. He and Birk, who has adopted children, have proposed funding centers that discourage abortions, as well as removing barriers and costs related to adoptions.

RAPID-FIRE ISSUES

Aside from abortion, voters have plenty of ways to distinguish the candidates. Jensen, for example, supports an education plan that would allow parents to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their kids to private schools, an idea Walz opposes. Jensen also supports an eventual end to the state income tax, an idea that Walz says will disproportionately benefit the wealthiest.

In answers that were restricted to between 30 and 90 seconds, Walz and Jensen fielded questions from a panel of four moderators. Here are some highlights:

On public safety, Walz noted he had a broad-strokes deal with Republican leaders of the Legislature and fellow House Democrats that would have included $400 million for public safety, but it all fell apart. Jensen urged Republicans to walk away, Walz noted, but Jensen said he had little to do with the outcome. Jensen hammered Walz as inept in responding to the George Floyd riots, at one point saying of Walz: “Arguably, he is the godfather of the crime wave that swept our country.”

On the current state of racial relations and diversity in the state, Walz said it was “a work in progress” that he and Flanagan, who is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, are committed to improving. Jensen said, “I think Minnesota is absolutely committed to being the marvelous state where kids are not judged on the color of their skin.”

On the potential to resurrect a proposed Twin Metals mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that was essentially scuttled by the Biden administration, Jensen said he would support building the mine. Walz said he would “follow the environmental impact statements,” dodging the thrust of the question.

To questions of military-style rifles and school shootings, Jensen cast the issue as a “product of lawlessness that swept over our state” and reiterated his support for the Second Amendment. Walz, who has supported gun-control measures, said “easy access to firearms” bears part of the blame and the solution lies in “a conversation about guns and a conversation about fully funding the police.”

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