Article Author:
Associated Press
Steve Karnowski
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic Gov. They've been jousting for months and are hoping for an easy win at first to formalize their fall matchup on Tuesday.
Waltz seeks a second term under the same slogan "One Minnesota" as four years ago, but Jensen and Republicans try to turn his pandemic management against him , in an increasingly polarized environment.
Both men faced little-known or long-standing candidates. In another top race, voters will choose between two Republicans vying to fight Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison in a fall race that could change views on public safety and abortion.
Crime is on the rise in Minneapolis, as in other major cities across the country, so Republicans spent months waltzing and Ellison. Attacked for public safety. They blamed Waltz for the slow mobilization of the National Guard, which enabled the sometimes violent protests following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, including the arson that destroyed a police station.
Walz dismissed a "re-speculation" of his moves during the pandemic, which included closing schools, restaurants and businesses and restricting large gatherings during the worst of times, citing doctor and former state legislator Jensen. objected to. He became famous in part because of his skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine.
"You can have wishful thinking and hope that you know that COVID is not real and you can take ivermectin or something like that, but the facts are not." '" Waltz told Jensen in the first debate just a week before the primary.
Jensen denies being anti-scientific, but one of his vaccine-questioning videos on Facebook elicited a warning label from the company, stating that the site
Jensen also dismissed the record-low unemployment rate as a "false indicator" compared to the higher costs faced by consumers, pointing to inflation followed the waltz on the rise of
Walz has pledged to protect abortion rights in Minnesota. Minnesota almost immediately became a legal abortion island in the Upper Midwest after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his Roe v. Wade decision. Jensen has downplayed the prospect of immediate changes on abortion if he is elected, but in July he granted exceptions for rape and incest and to protect his mother's physical or mental health.
In the Republican Attorney General primary, business attorney Jim Schultz wins party support and faces Ellison. But Doug Wardlow, who was narrowly defeated by Ellison in 2018, had sacked the party's "elite" leader, launching a major challenge against his own party's wishes. Both Schultz and Wardraw condemned Ellison for rising crime and supporting abortion rights.
Wardlow is his MyPillow's general counsel and chief proponent of the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump's founder Mike Lindell. I'm on my side.
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Contributed by Associated Press writer Doug Glass.