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Those prickly questions are coming whether he likes it or not; better to hone and sharpen his responses now. Playing it safe and hiding out will only make him look weak, unsteady and unsure. His soft launch also seems to indicate he thinks he can avoid the F-word: fraud. That’s a giant mistake. We’ve all seen the billion-dollar damage from fraud these past years. Walz can’t expect to look away either. This happened on his watch, and he needs to tell us he’s up to a full-frontal attack on it. Speaking at Attorney General Keith Ellison’s campaign kickoff last week, Walz was feisty and energized. He was close to a version of the candidate who needs to emerge in 2026. He mentioned farm losses under President Donald Trump, soaring health insurance costs and a police force on the street “doing anything they want.” He urged the faithful in attendance at the St. Paul brewery to get active for Ellison and “re-elect a fighter for the people who don’t have a voice.” It was a short speech geared to Ellison’s supporters, but Walz can’t waste opportunities to sharpen his message. He needs to pivot with some big swings or risk losing momentum to the Republicans, because at some point a strong GOP candidate may emerge. “The Republican Party has a great opportunity here that they have failed to seize for decades,” retired Carleton College political science professor Steven Schier said of Walz’s vulnerabilities.
