Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and business executive, has launched a campaign to challenge former Democrat vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz for Minnesota’s governorship.
While Walz has not yet formally announced a third consecutive gubernatorial bid, Qualls, who ran for governor in 2022, sees the race for Minnesota’s highest office as an opportunity to address the issues he created.
“I am running because Minnesotans are seeking a new direction after 16 years of failed leadership. “They’re looking for new leadership, and I’m here to make sure they get it,” Qualls told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview prior to his campaign launch on Tuesday night.
In a statement released first to Fox News Digital, Qualls stated that he is the only candidate capable of assisting Minnesota in reaching its full potential.
“I don’t need to tell you that Minnesota is at a crossroads,” Qualls said in his statement. “Tim Walz led us down the path of lost jobs, fleeing businesses, rising crime, and deteriorating education. Now, he spends more time outside of Minnesota on a vanity tour than he does trying to move Minnesota forward. “That is not leadership.”
Qualls stated that Minnesotans want to grow the economy, feel safe in their communities, and improve education, but “we’re not going to get any of those changes from Tim Walz.”
“I am the only candidate who can help Minnesota reach its full potential. To fix Tim Walz’s broken budget, we need a proven leader with real-world business experience. “If we are going to reclaim our streets and classrooms, we need a candidate with a conservative backbone and law enforcement credentials,” Qualls said.
Qualls stated that the only way to effect the change that Minnesotans seek is to bring in a political outsider such as himself.
“Like President Trump, I have a background in business and leadership. Previously, I served as an officer in the United States Army. And even before that, I grew up in extreme poverty. “I know there is a formula for success in this country, even if we do not come from a privileged background,” Qualls said.
The gubernatorial candidate stated that he wants Americans to understand that there is a path forward in the United States for anyone to succeed, regardless of background or educational institution. However, Qualls stated that the government must remove barriers to success.
“There are paths out. Unfortunately, what I’m finding with the Democrats is that they’ve been closing the doors to prosperity. When I turned 18, I registered as a Republican, and I’ve never looked back. I did not know any Republicans.
I didn’t have a country club membership, but I was aware that what the Democrats were doing in the Black community was not something I wanted to be a part of. They were not helping. Qualls, who grew up in poverty in Harlem and a trailer park in Oklahoma, stated that they were exacerbating the situation.
“In the last election, I finished second out of seven candidates in the Republican endorsement process.” I agreed to comply with the endorsement. I actually endorsed.
The candidate who won. Unfortunately, we lost everything in the 2022 election, including the governorship, the Senate, the House, and the attorney general. And a lot of people thought we had the wrong candidate at the top of the ticket,” Qualls explained.
But Qualls claims this time is different.
“I worked around the state for four years helping candidates raise money, just rallying the troops,” Qualls claimed. “There’s a sense of true leadership that people haven’t seen before.”
Qualls plans to build a grassroots coalition of Minnesota Republicans seeking change, leveraging his increased name recognition.
