Hope Walz said Monday she believes her father, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), dropped his reelection bid partially to shift attention away from Minnesota, which has faced national scrutiny amid fraud investigations.
The governor, former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 running mate, announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in the governor’s mansion, saying he couldn’t give his campaign “my all” while addressing welfare fraud in his state.
His daughter spoke in a podcast interview two hours after her father’s announcement, saying “it would be easier” for her family not to have her father seek another term. She also said a lot of Minnesota residents are “very scared right now,” and said she wants to be “sensitive to that.”
Host John O’Sullivan said it’s “a weird time to be a Minnesotan right now,” to which Hope Walz agreed, saying the North Star State is typically a “flyover state” but “everyone’s” talking about it.
“I think my dad would say part of the decision he decided to step away from the race was to, kind of, get that target off of Minnesota. I think that he believes if he’s not in the race, they have nothing else, because he has that national profile,” Walz said on the One Hour Detours podcast.
“Trump just hates him for some reason. I think it’s because he’s everything Trump will never be, so there’s that. And I think without him in the race, they’re trying to continue governing the race past next year,” Walz said.
Walz also said she thinks there is “enough truth” to the claims of fraud in the state, but people have been able to “twist it and amplify it.” She added that the fraud is “being dealt with,” but some people are framing it “in a way that benefited them.”
Following Walz’s announcement to drop his reelection bid, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is reportedly considering a gubernatorial run. She praised the “difficult decision” Walz made in withdrawing his bid, but didn’t shine light on her future political ambitions.
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Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) ordered the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to investigate child care fraud in his state after the accusations in Minnesota.
The Washington Examiner contacted Walz’s office for comment.