This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Tim Walz, Minnesota's far-left governor, was part of the Democrats' losing 2024 presidential nominee team. He was the candidate for vice president alongside Kamala Harris' candidacy for the White House.
They failed, massively. They lost the Electoral College vote in a landslide. They lost the popular vote in a landslide. And they led their party to record-setting low approval ratings continuing even now.
But it's not Walz's extraordinary and extreme allegiance to the transgender ideology, his suspect military career maneuvers, his drunken driving arrest, or his stunningly abrasive ego that is getting attention.
The issue over which Americans, including Democrats, likely are saying "whew" that he was not elected, even to the vice presidency, is his financial profligacy.
A report in The Federalist explains he took a state with a $19 billion surplus and made it a state with a $6 billion deficit.
"It is not hyperbole to say that Minnesota's finances are in free fall. After boasting a record-setting $19 billion surplus in 2022 — larger than the full budgets of 20 U.S. states — the Minnesotans learned earlier this month that it faces a staggering $6 billion budget deficit," the report said.
"How did this happen? In 2023, Walz and his Democrat allies in the legislature embarked on the most reckless spending spree in Minnesota history, funneling billions into pet projects and giveaways for every left-wing constituency imaginable. The surplus wasn't used to shore up Minnesota's long-term financial stability or to return money to taxpayers. Instead, it was squandered in the most reckless fiscal step taken in Minnesota's modern history."
Further, since his "relationship with the truth has always been a distant one," he tried to blame his failings on the new Trump administration, only to be contradicted by state officials who confirmed the federal policy did not affect their budget projections.
The state, which once had one of the strongest economies, now is in the bottom 10.
"Job creation has stagnated, and businesses are increasingly looking elsewhere to expand or move. Meanwhile, Walz has increased tax burdens on individuals and businesses and made Minnesota one of the least competitive states for economic growth," the report confirmed.
The report noted Walz's financial finagling is far from his only failing.
The report noted the "over $250 million" that was "stolen" through fraud in state programs on his watch, the state education system that has "cratered" during his tenure, and more.
"From 2014 to 2023, reading proficiency dropped by 8.2 percentage points, and math proficiency fell by 14.2 percentage points, despite significant increases in education spending. Under Tim Walz, most Minnesota kids can't read or do math at grade level."
And finally, Walz's surge in violent crime.
"Minneapolis saw 79 homicides last year, up nearly 160 percent since 2019 — while far-left prosecutors like Soros-backed Mary Moriarty let criminals walk and attack police," the report said.
Walz admitted recently in an interview that 10% of the time, "I can be a train wreck."
"Tim Walz has been a train wreck and not just 10 percent of the time. And although Americans were given a glimpse of his record in Minnesota in 2024, that record grows more troubling as the consequences of his policies have played out. All of America should know that Minnesota was once the 'State that Worked.' Under Tim Walz, that's as gone, just like its absentee governor."
Since his failed campaign with Harris, he's routinely the butt of online joking.
