Top Minnesota lawmaker dishes on how Gov. Tim Walz is leading the state into 'economic disaster'

A top Minnesota Republican is ripping Gov. Tim Walz for crushing the state's economy.

Walz, who recently was chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, made repeated blunders while working as governor trying to restore the state's economy after the COVID pandemic, the House GOP Whip charged. 

The North Star State has some of the highest tax rates in the country and Walz drove them even higher, putting the 'state on a course to economic disaster,' House Republican Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., exclusively told DailyMail.com. 

'Tim Walz does not have a budget bone in his body. He doesn't understand how business works. He's a school teacher, which is fine, but he's never run anything in his life, and that shows when he became the CEO of the state of Minnesota.'

'This is just Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt,' Emmer joked of Walz's similarity to the liberal California governor. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has liquidated the state's budget surplus while raising taxes on residents, House Republican Whip Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com. His leadership has put the 'state on a course for economic disaster,' Emmer said

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'Last year alone, he blew through a $17.5 billion surplus and then added on the backs of Minnesotans, hard working Minnesotans, $8 billion in new taxes and fees.'

'Minnesota has one of the worst business tax climates in the country,' Emmer added. 'We now rank 44 out of 50 states, and we've got people there, frankly, leaving the state droves because of his high tax policies.' 

Emmer seemed to be referencing an analysis by the Tax Foundation that found Minnesota ranks among the worst states in the country for business taxes.

Beyond taxes and budgets, federal economic data does not paint an entirely rosy picture for the northern state's economy. 

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Minnesota has lagged behind the rest of the country under Walz's leadership when it comes to growth. 

Since taking office, the Minnesota economy has grown just 6.2 percent compared to the U.S. average of 11.5 percent, meaning the state's economy has grown roughly half as fast as the remainder of the U.S.

House Republican Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told DailyMail.com that Gov. Tim Walz hurt the state's economy and that his economic agenda for Minnesota if applied to country would hinder the U.S.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz provides an update on the state's next steps to respond to COVID-19 during a news conference on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.  Emmer said that Walz's leadership during the pandemic was 

Walz's leadership Minnesota has also meant much lower employment growth compared to the national average. 

From January 2019 to June 2024 the U.S. saw a 5.8 percent increase in job growth compared to Minnesota which only grew employment by 0.5 percent over the same period. 

However, the economy was not all bad under Walz. 

One good indicator for Walz is the state's unemployment rate, which has consistently been lower than the national average. 

As of June 2024, Minnesota's unemployment rate was roughly 30 percent lower than the national level, hovering at 2.9 percent compared to the U.S. average of 4.1 percent. 

Additionally, inflation in the state was tamer than that of the remainder of the country, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. 

The state's inflation rate is currently at 2.6 percent compared to the U.S. average of 3.3 percent.