Scott Jensen is losing, badly

According to a new poll from KSTP/SurveyUSA, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) has opened an 18-point lead against his Republican opponent, Scott Jensen.

KSTP/SURVEYUSA: In 2022 Minnesota Governor’s race, DFL incumbent Tim Walz leads Republican by 18 points, 51% to 33%. pic.twitter.com/GRGsvBtRjr

— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) September 6, 2022

This is a year where Republicans were expected to make a race like this somewhat competitive. However, Jensen is struggling just to keep Walz’s lead in the single digits. For reference, when Walz was elected in 2018 ― a year where the national political environment heavily favored Democrats ― he won by 11 percentage points.

A major factor holding Jensen back is his fundraising. With two months until the election, Jensen has just $580,000 of cash on hand, while Walz holds nearly $5 million. With such a disadvantage on the financial front, Jensen’s campaign has resorted to unconventional tactics such as flying a banner over the Minnesota state fair that said “Walz Failed.” Jensen was also spotted walking around the DFL booth on the last day of the fair and looking at a public poll that showed abortion access as the top priority for voters.

The data shows that among voters who list abortion as their main voting issue, 73% of them support the Walz campaign. Jensen and his running mate Matt Birk are taking a hard stance against abortion access and have said they would try to implement an abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest (despite a recent flip-flop in an Jensen campaign advertisement). In a similar poll from May, before the Dobbs decision, Jensen trailed Walz by just five points.

Jensen’s recent political ad features him holding a baby while trying to distance himself from his previous statements. In the ad, Jensen says, “Abortion is divisive, and Tim Walz is weaponizing the issue. In Minnesota, it is a protected constitutional right, and no governor can change that.”

On the contrary, the next governor of Minnesota may appoint several Supreme Court Justices. If Republicans have the majority in the court, they will have the ability to overturn Doe v. Gomez, the 1995 state supreme court decision which give Minnesotans the right to terminate a pregnancy.

The stakes are high for Minnesota. From restoring public safety, to providing the best education for our kids, to making sure families have the most money in their budget during these hard times, new leadership will make a difference.

That’s why I’m running for governor. pic.twitter.com/nxoSF9DyCX

— Scott Jensen (@drscottjensen) September 7, 2022

In addition to abortion, Jensen has also drawn disapproval for his commentary on COVID-19 policies. Even though Jensen is a family physician, he not only remains unvaccinated for COVID, but he also encourages the spread of conspiracy theories on the subject. Jensen compared American COVID policies to those of Nazi Germany in a controversial talk for the anti-mandate group MaskOffMN. These comments resulted in conservative radio host Joe Soucheray publicly criticizing Jensen at the State Fair and calling his words “utter embarrassing B.S.”

MN conservative radio host Joe Soucheray calls out the Jensen/Birk GOP gubernatorial ticket: “If I hear any more of this Holocaust stuff, I’ll never talk to you again. That was utter embarrassing BS … And I got news for you: Women don’t intend to stay barefoot and pregnant.” pic.twitter.com/wSj9feXnJ9

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 1, 2022

Walz is running for his second term and is looking to keep Minnesota one of two states in the Midwest that provides access to safe and legal abortions. Minnesota has not elected a Republican governor since 2006.