The Other Record the Democrats Don’t Mention

One of the remarkable features of this year’s presidential election is the Democrats’ avoidance of any discussion of the last four years, under the Biden/Harris administration. The reason is obvious: the Biden/Harris record is indefensible. Another thing they don’t want to talk about is Tim Walz’s record as Governor of Minnesota.

Unfortunately, the conservative press hasn’t focused as much on that record as it might have. This is understandable, given Walz’s propensity to lie, his weak character, his ineptitude in debate, and so on. But his record in office deserves more scrutiny than it has gotten.

Happily, Douglas Carswell, writing in the Telegraph, puts the focus where it belongs: “Thousands are fleeing Tim Walz’s Minnesota. It’s a warning to America.”

[I]t’s Walz’s record as governor in Minnesota that is proving even more awkward for Team Kamala.

Walz has been active in Minnesota politics for almost two decades, serving as a congressman for the state before becoming governor in 2019. How has Minnesota fared under governor Tim Walz?

Minnesota, for perhaps the first time in its 166 year history, is losing people. At a time when the population of America is growing, the Gopher State is flirting with demographic decline. People from every income group, apart from those at the very bottom, are leaving in significant numbers according to IRS data.

That’s true. See this chart, produced by Center of the American Experiment:

You might imagine that Minnesota is one of those wealthy mid-Western states. It certainly used to be. But one analysis suggests that, in 2023, Minnesota’s per capita income fell below the US national average for the first time.

That’s true, too. This is the American Experiment chart that Carswell is referring to. It was one of our economists who figured this out:

One reason that the state has stalled economically could be that energy costs in Minnesota are now sky high. Perhaps thanks in part to Governor Walz’s renewable energy agenda, electricity prices have shot up – even if they have not yet reached the sort of levels you see in Europe. This has hit energy intensive industries hard.

This is the American Experiment chart:

Minnesota once had a relatively low crime rate. No longer. Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd died after that notorious confrontation with the police soon after Tim Walz became governor, was at the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter protests that followed. … Crime in urban Minnesota skyrocketed. The state was recently found to have a higher crime rate than the US national average.

This is the chart Carswell referred to. Actually, it is Minnesota’s serious crime rate that is now higher than the national average:

Walz, who famously presents himself as an educator, has also appeased teacher union interests in the state. His governorship has been a disaster for public education. Despite spending per student increasing significantly on Walz’s watch, proficiency in maths and reading have plummeted.

This is the chart:

All of the data Carswell used for his Telegraph column came from this post at AmericanExperiment.org: “What America needs to know about Tim Walz of Minnesota.” The post was published immediately after Walz was announced as Kamala Harris’s running mate.

We are delighted to see other commentators and news outlets make use of our data, and, in the wake of Walz’s nomination, a great many have done so. Carswell is British, but he is currently the President of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. In that capacity, we interviewed him for our podcast not too long ago. So he is familiar with our work.

This is Carswell’s conclusion:

If Walz’s Minnesota proves a microcosm of what America under a Kamala Harris presidency is to become, America will be much worse off as a result.

That is the point that I would like to see more commentators make about Walz. His record, like that of Kamala Harris, is terrible.