Walz, Jensen spar in final debate before Election Day
St. Paul, Minn. -- DFL Gov. Tim Walz and Republican challenger Dr. Scott Jensen clashed in their third and final debate Friday, sharpening their attacks on each other in the waning days of the campaign for the state's top job.
"This election is about our future," said Walz, who is seeking a second term. "You're going to hear and you've seen over this campaign, two very contrasting visions of Minnesota. Scott's vision is a dark and fearful vision of Minnesota."
The two previously debated earlier this month, which marked their first head-to-head match-up since early August. Since then, the race has tightened and the candidates: Real Clear Politics has a polling average showing Walz up by 2.5 points.
"In his inaugural address he said he would unite people; he would unite Minnesota. His slogan was 'One Minnesota,'" Jensen said. "That's a sham. Tim Walz failed. Minnesota is broken."
Tense exchanges and personal attacks punctured the hour-long debate hosted by MPR News Friday. The two sparred state budget priorities, public safety, COVID policies and education, as test scores plummeted during the pandemic.
Abortion rights are a key issue in this election, though it was only briefly discussed this debate. Walz criticized Jensen for his views but the other topics dominated the conversation.
Education
Statewide test scores show student achievement is lower than it was pre-pandemic. The data revealed fewer than half -- 45% -- of students are proficient in math, and 52% have met proficiency standards for reading.
Jensen called Minnesota's education system "broken" and said the state needs to do better after students' math and reading scores dropped. He criticized the Walz administration shuttering schools and moving to online learning, and questioned the governor's calls to "fully fund" education.
"Quite frankly Minnesota K-12 education is in trouble," he said. "This isn't the time to be parading around with your chest out, haven't we done well? No, we haven't. I don't think it's a lack of dollars—it's where we're deploying the dollars."
Walz acknowledged that students have faced challenges these last two years, but said Minnesota's schools are "some of the best in the country." He accused Jensen of having plans to "defund" public education. Jensen proposes a school voucher program, which would create education savings accounts that would allow parents to use state funds for private schools.
"He is more concerned about this fake internet rumor [about litterboxes in schools] than getting guns out of schools and providing teachers the mental health they need," Walz said. "Imagine you're out there teaching today and you hear someone running for governor telling you how horrible your schools are."
COVID-19 policies
Jensen, a physician, has been a longtime critic of the Walz administration's response to the pandemic—for closing schools and businesses during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the incumbent governor slammed Jensen for his "dangerous" views on COVID-19 and touted his support from physicians in the Minnesota Medical Association.
"This reckless, dangerous behavior—this pushing internet conspiracy theories made our job even harder," Walz said. "When science changes its mind, they weren't lying. They learned more. That's the way the system works."
When asked if his views about the coronavirus were "out of the mainstream," Jensen responded saying he has "definitely" been a skeptic. Early in the pandemic, He questioned the federal government's methodology for accounting for deaths from COVID-19, which garnered him national headlines before becoming his party's nominee for governor in May of this year.
"I think it's been pretty well established that locking kids out of school was a horrible decision," he said. "I think locking down businesses in this cavalier way that they did and then pursuing them with this heavy-handed approach was problematic."
State budget surplus
The first question asked candidates to articulate their priorities for spending the state's billions from a budget surplus. The Minnesota Legislature began session this year with $9 billion on the table for education, public safety, tax cuts and more.
Lawmakers agreed to broad deals before negotiations broke down at the end of session and they adjourned without passing many key priorities, leaving a lot of money up for grabs next year as they craft the budget for the next biennium.
Walz said he would prioritize continued investments in education, passing matching funds for federal infrastructure dollars, and support for child care to bolster economic development.
Jensen said his first priority would be to eliminate the "unconscionable" tax on social security benefits. Minnesota is in a minority of states that do this, according to an analysis from the Tax Foundation. The provision was part of an tax agreement between Democrats and Republicans this year that ultimately didn't pass before session's end.
If you missed the debate, you can watch it in full here.