and House in 2018 Richard Painter, University of Minnesota Law School professor, former chief White House ethics lawyer, and DFL candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 (ran for Congress) Endorsements General election Campaign The election's central issues were the economy, rising crime, Walz’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, education, and abortion access following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Walz campaigned on his first-term accomplishments, such as middle-class tax cuts, while making abortion rights a prominent focus of the campaign and attacking Jensen on abortion and his COVID-19 skepticism. Jensen attacked Walz over his COVID-19 policies, crime in the Twin Cities, inflation and gas prices, and education performance. Jensen was criticized for promoting the hoax that schools provided litter boxes to students who identify as furries. Debates Predictions Endorsements Polling Aggregate polls Graphical summary Tim Walz vs. Michelle Benson Tim Walz vs. Paul Gazelka Tim Walz vs. Mike Marti Tim Walz vs. Mike Murphy Tim Walz vs. Kendall Qualls Tim Walz vs. Neil Shah Tim Walz vs. Rich Stanek Tim Walz vs. generic Republican Results Results by county See also 2022 United States gubernatorial elections 2022 Minnesota elections 2022 Minnesota Senate election 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election Litter boxes in schools hoax Notes Partisan clients References External links Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State Official campaign websites Cory Hepola (F) for Governor Scott Jensen (R) for Governor James McCaskel (LMN) for Governor Hugh McTavish (I) for Governor Brandon Millholland-Corcoran (I) for Governor Darrell Paulsen (GLC) for Governor Tim Walz (D) for Governor Chris Wright (LMN) for Governor Minnesota 2022 Gubernatorial