TIM PAWLENTY

Dr. Scott Jensen, a skeptic of the government’s response to COVID-19, has won the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in the November election.

Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has launched his campaign for a second term in an increasingly divided state, saying he has made the tough calls necessary to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the economy.

There was a brief time, not long ago, when Elise Stefanik wouldn't say Donald Trump’s name.

But the Trump true believer says he has something from Trump that softens that blow: the promise of an endorsement. The president has told him before that he would back his bid for governor of Minnesota, Lindell told The Associated Press. “Mike, if you did it, I would get behind you,” Lindell said Trump told him. Then, after the election, Lindell shared Trump's refusal to accept Biden as the winner. The guy was the best president in history," Lindell said, praising Trump's response to the pandemic and his economic policies.