Tim Walz Humiliated after Losing Home Blue Earth County to Trump
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz lost his home county of Blue Earth County, Minnesota, to Trump after failing to deliver even half of the votes to Kamala Harris.
During the just-concluded election, Vice President Kamala Harris received 48.3% of the votes in Blue Earth County while Trump received 49.6%.
During the 2020 election, outgoing president Joe Biden received 51% of the votes while Trump garnered 46.5% in Blue Earth County.
Walz’s loss at home is more significant given his impressive political career that spans over 20 years. The Democratic Vice President candidate joined politics after flipping Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District in 2006 and representing it for the next 12 years.
He then defeated a defeated Republican governor by double digits in 2018, a seat he held before gaining the party’s attention and entering national politics. Yet, his solid political credentials could not spare him a humiliating defeat at home in Trump’s hands.
Surprisingly, the 1st Congressional District that Walz represented for over a decade also overwhelmingly voted for Trump where the former President received 54.88% of the votes compared to Harris’s 42.92%. The district also elected a GOP candidate, Brad Finstad with 58.6% of the votes.
The GOP also managed to flip three seats in the state House of Representatives, ending Democrat’s trifecta which gave Walz sweeping powers as the state governor. During the 2023 session, Walz managed to advance various progressive causes including more spending, increased taxes, and more regulations.
Nonetheless, Harris won Minnesota by 50.88% compared to Trump’s 46.66% to garner 10 electoral votes. However, Harris’s victory was still below Biden’s (52.6%) in 2020.
Minnesota traditionally votes Democratic, with the last time a Republican candidate won the state vote being in 1972. Luckily, the Democratic ticket was spared from embarrassment after a Minnesota Post survey suggested that Harris could lose statewide.
Meanwhile, Walz, 60, will return to complete the remaining two years of his second term as the state governor having failed to clinch the vice presidency. However, the last leg of his second term will not be a walk in the park, and the future of his gubernatorial career also hangs in the balance.
Walz has yet to confirm if he will seek re-election. The last time Minnesota re-elected a state governor for the third time was Rudy Perpich in 1986.
Dejected by the election’s outcome, Walz has thanked Harris for choosing him as her running mate.
“While the outcome is not what we wanted, I am grateful to the millions of Americans who joined our campaign and stood up for our greatest ideals: decency, compassion, and love of our neighbor.
“Now more than ever, we need you to continue fighting for those values and the country we all love.”
Besides his political woes at home, Democrats might also blame Walz for the loss, having failed to resonate with voters across the country. Nonetheless, Harris believes Walz still has a shot at national politics.
“To Governor Walz and the Walz family: I know your service to our nation will continue,” she said. she said.
