XPost: mn.politics, alt.politics.democrats, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, or.politics   
   From: contact@tiffanyhenyard.com   
      
   Republicans will place these Tim Walz controversies under the microscope as   
   the 2024 campaign heats up   
      
   Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Midwestern governor, Army National   
   Guard veteran and former football coach and teacher Tim Walz to be her 2024   
   running mate after a hurried, intense two-week vetting process. Walz, 60, is a   
   veteran politician who    
   served in the U.S. Congress from 2007 until 2018, when he was elected governor   
   of Minnesota, defeating Republican Jeff Johnson. He was re-elected to a second   
   term in 2022 after fending off a challenge from Republican Scott Jensen.   
   Progressives have    
   praised Walz's strong support for unions and record of accomplishments as   
   governor, which include codifying abortion rights into the state constitution,   
   enacting universal free school breakfasts and lunches for students, regardless   
   of income, and making    
   Minnesota a refuge for children seeking transgender medical procedures. This   
   strong progressive record and Walz's plainspoken demeanor reportedly thrilled   
   the Harris campaign, which sought a partner who could reinforce the Democratic   
   ticket   
    's strength in Midwestern battleground states. But there are several   
   controversies tied to Walz's tenure as governor that Republicans have already   
   begun to use in their attacks on his record.   
      
   VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV. TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE   
      
   Here are a few: 1995 DUI Arrest  Walz in past campaigns has sought to downplay   
   his arrest for drunk driving in the mid-90s, but questions about his run-in   
   with law enforcement continue to dog him. A 2022 report by Alpha News   
   unearthed court records that    
   cast doubt on the version of the story Walz has told on the campaign trail. On   
   Sept. 23, 1995, when Walz was working as a teacher in his home state of   
   Nebraska, he was pulled over for going 96 mph in a 55-mph zone. In comments to   
   reporters, Walz's 2006    
   campaign for Congress in Minnesota's 1st District insisted he was "not drunk"   
   and blamed a "misunderstanding" with police on "Walz's deafness," which the   
   governor's then-campaign manager said had since been "surgically corrected."   
   But a state trooper's    
   report obtained by Alpha News contradicts those claims. "A strong odor of   
   alcoholic beverage was detected emitting from Mr. Walz[‘s] breath and   
   person," the report said. The trooper indicated that Walz submitted to and   
   failed both a fie   
    ld sobriety test and a preliminary breath test. He was eventually taken to   
   Chadron Hospital for a blood test before being booked in the Dawes County   
   Jail. Walz was initially charged with driving under the influence and   
   speeding, but he pleaded guilty to    
   a single count of reckless driving, according to Alpha News.   
      
   MOST AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF TIM WALZ, HARRIS' VP PICK   
      
   Black Lives Matter Riots Walz's critics say his handling of the Minneapolis   
   riots after the 2020 killing of George Floyd was a failure and low point of   
   his first term as governor. "[H]e's been a disaster for Minnesota and is by   
   far the most partisan    
   governor that I can remember having," Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann told   
   Fox News Digital. "Going back to 2020, certainly – he did nothing to try to   
   stop the riots going on in Minneapolis. I think he was fearful of alienating   
   his ‘progressive’    
   base, who were supporting the riots. Kamala Harris was raising money for the   
   rioters." Walz deployed the National Guard to stop the violence, which   
   included the torching of a police station. But GOP lawmakers have said both   
   the governor and Minneapolis    
   Mayor Jacob Frey were too slow to act. Republican state Senate Majority Leader   
   Paul Gazelka accused Walz of a slow response to the riots, which left   
   businesses in downtown Minneapolis in ruins. "I called the White House after   
   [four] days of   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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