Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is leaving office with his political standing in free fall, now polling below President Donald Trump in his own deep-blue state as a massive fraud scandal and cultural flashpoints engulf his final months in power.
According to Fox News, a new Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy Inc. survey conducted for KARE 11, the Minnesota Star Tribune and the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication shows Walzs approval rating at just 39 percent, with 53 percent disapproving and 8 percent undecided. The live-interview poll of 800 registered voters likely to cast ballots in the November 2026 general election was conducted June 8-10 and marks the lowest approval rating of Walzs six-year tenure.
The same polling operation found Trumps approval in Minnesota at 41 percent, a striking reversal in a state long considered reliably Democratic at the statewide level. Conservatives quickly seized on the numbers, with Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posting on X, "Tim Walz has a lower approval rating than President Trump in deep blue Minnesota right now," adding, "Thats how toxic the fraud has become for Democrats."
The fraud scandal that has dominated Minnesota headlines appears to be the central driver of Walzs collapse, coinciding with a 10-point drop in his approval over the past year. On the question of which party voters trust to address the fraud crisis, 45 percent chose Republicans, while only 38 percent selected Democrats and 14 percent said neither party.
The scandal has drawn intense scrutiny from Washington, where the Trump administration has deployed a federal fraud task force to Minnesota, leading to raids, arrests and ongoing investigations into how the scheme was able to metastasize so rapidly. The final Walz fraud report has already blasted a "culture of tolerance" as Minnesota taxpayers face what could amount to billions in alleged losses.
The controversy has been particularly explosive because of its heavy ties to the Somali immigrant community, raising questions about oversight, assimilation and the states political priorities. For many voters, the scandal has reinforced a perception that Walz and his Democratic allies have been more focused on ideological projects than on safeguarding taxpayer dollars.
Another flashpoint further eroding Walzs standing is Minnesotas new state flag, a project he supported and championed. The poll found that 50 percent of voters disapprove of the new design, which was approved by a 13-member commission created by the Democratic-controlled legislature in 2023.
The flag has become a cultural lightning rod, with critics blasting it as bland, overly abstract and disconnected from Minnesotas heritage. Some opponents have gone further, arguing that the design bears an uncomfortable resemblance to Somalias national flag, a comparison that has only intensified public backlash.
Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that the flag fight and the fraud scandal have converged into a broader repudiation of Walzs agenda. "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," Emmer said. "The flag is an embarrassment and good on the cities who are actively removing it from their city halls and communities."
Emmer argued that Walzs priorities have been fundamentally misaligned with the interests of ordinary residents, especially on immigration and law enforcement. "President Trump is more popular than Tim Walz in his home state because Minnesotans are sick and tired of Walz siding with illegal aliens and Somali fraudsters over his hardworking, taxpaying constituents." he continued. "The legacy of Tim Walz will be the fires that destroyed Minneapolis, the fraud that he allowed to be stolen under his watch, and his failures that have harmed our great state."
The partisan breakdown of the poll underscores how isolated Walz has become outside his own partys base. Only 1 percent of Republicans say they approve of the job he is doing, compared with 73 percent of Democrats and just 32 percent of Independents, a troubling sign for Democrats hoping to hold the governors office after Walz departs in January.
Republican Minnesota State Sen. Michael Holmstrom told Fox News Digital that the national electorates earlier verdict on Walz is now being echoed at home. "America rejected Tim Walz in 2024," Holmstrom said. "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."
State Sen. Mark Koran, another Republican critic, said the poll numbers are a direct reflection of Walzs own decisions and ideological zeal. Republican State Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital that the polls "really tell you what Gov. Walz has done to himself."
Koran argued that Walz allowed the fraud scandal to spiral while he focused on advancing a progressive wish list through state government. "He let his fraud crisis blow up and didnt do anything to fix it while he was busy shoving all this radical stuff into state government," Koran said. "After years of extreme far-left ideology and policies that dont 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."
With Walz declining to seek re-election and his approval ratings sinking, Minnesota voters now face a stark choice about whether to continue down the same ideological path or pivot toward a more conservative, accountability-focused direction. Fox News Digital reached out to Walzs office for comment, but as the fraud scandal, cultural battles and public discontent converge, the governors silence may speak almost as loudly as the poll numbers themselves.
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