Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as a leader and a candidate forged his reputation disapproving of Donald J. Trump, but his own approval rating in his state has now dipped below that of the president whom he has consistently targeted.
The former vice presidential candidate continues to lose support over revelations of the massive fraud scandal that was underway during his watch, Fox News Digital reported.
According to the outlet’s report:
Walz, who is leaving office in January after announcing he will not run for re-election, has an approval rating of 39 percent in the state and a disapproval rating of 53 percent with 8 percent not sure, according to a new poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy Inc. for KARE 11, the Minnesota Star Tribune, and the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The poll surveyed 800 Minnesota registered voters likely to participate in the November general election via live telephone interviews from June 8-10, 2026 and the numbers represent Walz’s lowest approval rating since taking office six years ago.
As a further blow to Walz’s leadership, 45 percent of voters said they trust Republicans to fix the fraud problem compared to 38 percent who chose Democrats, with 14 percent saying neither party could fix it.
The same polling unit registered Trump’s approval rating in the state at 41 percent, two points above the governor.
“Tim Walz has a lower approval rating than President Trump in deep blue Minnesota right now,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “That’s how toxic the fraud has become for Democrats.”
As Breitbart News has reported, the Trump administration marshaled a task force led by Vice President JD Vance to crack down on theft in publicly funded social programs nationwide, resulting in raids and arrests in Minnesota.
This followed the high tension between Minnesota and the Trump administration during a highly publicized illegal immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of two people before the operation was eased in February.
Even the new state flag Walz promoted is not getting a whole lot of respect.
A near-majority of voters in the poll — 50 percent — also voiced their disapproval of a new flag that was approved by Walz after it was created by a legislative commission in 2023.
The new flag apparently evoked elements of one of the largest fraud scandals in U.S. history, which was based heavily in the Somali immigrant community. Critics say it resembles the official flag of that African nation.
“Two issues that unite a majority of Minnesotans are the rejection of Tim Walz and his failed policies and our hatred for the Minnesota Somali state flag,” Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) told Fox News Digital. “The flag is an embarrassment and good on the cities who are actively removing it from their city halls and communities.”
State Republicans jabbed Walz on his new polling.
“America rejected Tim Walz in 2024,” Republican Minnesota State Sen. Michael Holmstrom told Fox News Digital. “Now Minnesotans are following suit. The good news for Tim is that, now that his record is on full display, he could soon be the most popular guy in the jailhouse.”
Federal investigators have not charged Walz with any crime related to the fraud investigations.
Criminal charges or not, another state senator said Walz’s legacy has taken a hit.
“He let his fraud crisis blow up and didn’t do anything to fix it while he was busy shoving all this radical stuff into state government,” Sen. Mark Koran told the outlet.
He added, “After years of extreme far-left ideology and policies that don’t help normal people, Minnesotans have had enough. His legacy is going to be the fraud crisis and desecrating the state flag. Minnesota is just tired of it.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.