Jensen offers sharp candidacy contrast to Walz in MN governor’s race

All seven of the Republican candidates for governor offer an acute contrast to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. But when it comes to the pandemic response, former state Sen. Scott Jensen might offer the sharpest distinction.

In an interview recorded for “At Issue with Tom Hauser,” Jensen criticized the governor’s COVID-19 response on a number of fronts.

“First off, the overreach was abusive and grotesque,” he says. “That would be one thing. There was no reason to overreach like Gov. Walz did and, if you will, Gov. Cuomo and Gov. Newsom. “That would be one thing. Second thing is I think Minnesotans deserve to be trusted. I think we saw an overreach and an intrusion into our lives. We saw early on the nursing home policies in New York weren’t working.  Why did we repeat them in Minnesota?”

In a wide-ranging interview, Jensen also talked about his views on public safety, gun control and the budget surplus, including the idea from Walz about direct payments to Minnesotans.

You can see the entire interview Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on “At Issue.”