Former Gov. Jesse Ventura took what he called the "unprecedented" step of endorsing the reelection bid of DFL Gov. Tim Walz in a video released Thursday.
Ventura, who shocked the world with his 1998 win as a Reform Party candidate but now calls himself "an independent statesman," said the stakes are too high for him to sit out this election. He listed three factors behind his decision to support Walz, whom he called a strong leader.
"When COVID-19 hit, Tim was there to keep our state safe," Ventura said, adding "that's the governor's most important job."
The state Republican Party pounced on Walz over the endorsement, calling on him to apologize to veterans and 9/11 families. In a statement, party Chairman David Hann, a Vietnam War veteran, said he was "appalled" that Walz "would seek and tout" the support of Ventura, whom Hann called a "discredited conspiracy theorist."
The video showed a bespectacled Ventura standing in an art-lined white hallway. He wore a Navy SEAL T-shirt and baseball cap with sparse strands of white-gray hair dangling at the back of his neck.
The former governor said he doesn't believe in the two political parties and will be casting his "independent ballot" for Walz. He urged Minnesotans to do the same and help keep the state's streak as the national leader in voter turnout.
In the two-minute video, Ventura spoke in his familiar declarative growl, adding emphasis and derision at the mention of the failed Jan. 6 insurrection and the role of Republicans.
Ventura said he took an oath as a Navy SEAL 50 years ago to defend the country. "I can't stand with anyone or any party who cannot condemn the Jan. 6 insurrection," Ventura said.
Without mentioning him by name, Ventura criticized the role of his one-time ally, former President Donald Trump, whom he said sent "seditionists" to the Capitol to try to block President Joe Biden's election.
Finally, Ventura, who supported abortion access while in office, credited Walz for his support on the issue. "Women's rights are under attack in this country," Ventura said.
He wrapped up by telling Minnesotans to "get out to the polls and cast your ballot."
Hann called the endorsement an "embarrassment and shows that Walz is losing and desperate for support."
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