Opinion | Gov. Walz deserves re-election, and could win

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Free school meals for every kid in Minnesota, paid family medical leave, the child tax credit, billions invested in essential infrastructure, seven years of balanced budgets — these are just a few of the accomplishments Gov. Tim Walz has delivered for Minnesotans over his time in office.

Andy Brehm, President Donald Trump and the field of GOP gubernatorial hopefuls would have Minnesotans forget all of this in the wake of the ongoing investigations into social services fraud committed by an organized crime ring intent on exploiting Minnesota’s safety net.

This fraud is a real issue, to be sure. Walz and his team are taking aggressive action in working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute those responsible, as well as putting in place safeguards to prevent this kind of fraud from happening again. He has changed the leadership team at DHS, appointed a fraud czar, and is creating new tools and protocols to get ahead of fraudsters such as pre-payment reviews of Medicaid claims. He also knows there is more to do and Minnesotans can expect action over the coming months.

No Republican is offering any substantial addition to the governor’s action, and it is telling that after a year of meeting, the State Legislative Fraud Committee, led by wannabe gubernatorial candidate Kristin Robbins, has discovered no fraud on their own and offered no real solutions — a fact that has not gone unnoticed by this paper (“Olson: Minnesota Republicans’ waste, fraud and abuse committee gets stuck in the mud,“ July 10).

The 2026 election is shaping up to be a bloodbath for Republicans across the country. Americans are fed up by the GOP’s lack of attention to the number one issue on everyone’s mind: affordability. Trump and Republicans have squandered their first year back in power, cutting essential services like health care so they can give tax breaks to their billionaire buddies, terrorizing communities with a militarized ICE, pardoning any fraudster willing to pay off the president and raiding the public trust for their own benefit in deal after deal.

As a longtime political strategist in Minnesota I see a lot of polling, and Walz’s standing in Minnesota has been remarkably stable since 2022. Minnesotans rightfully detest fraud and want it eradicated from government, and they also want leaders who can deliver on affordability and creating and maintaining the kind of state where neighbors help neighbors and everyone is given a chance to succeed.

Minnesota has a strong tradition of hard work, providing ladders up for the less fortunate and standing by each other. No one embodies those traditions more than Walz, who is delivering on paid family medical leave, fighting for common sense gun laws, funding education and fighting for affordable access to health care.

Democrats win in Minnesota because we stand up and fight for a better way of life for everyone. Walz’s commitment and leadership to that better life is evident by the way he stands up for every Minnesotan — be they farmers, our labor brothers and sisters, immigrants or middle class families across the state. He has pledged to make Minnesota the best state to raise a family and is delivering on that promise.

Minnesotans are not fooled by national rhetoric that looks to only tear people down instead of build people up. We aren’t those people and neither is Walz — he is standing with us, he is fighting for us and he has earned four more years.