Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is once again under fire for waste, fraud, and spending abuses as he gears up for what could be an unusually tough reelection battle from a GOP challenger.<\/p>\n
Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, announced her candidacy for governor in August. Robbins said she intends to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has not yet indicated whether he will seek another term.<\/p>\n
She\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the St. Cloud Times she intends to focus on three primary policy areas: financial security, education and economic development.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Minnesota. My husband and I were blessed to raise our three girls here and build our lives here,\u201d Robbins said. \u201cUnfortunately, under (Gov.) Tim Walz, we\u2019ve seen the state really go into decline.\u201d<\/p>\n Robbins, who chairs the Legislature\u2019s Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, said combating fraud is a central focus of her campaign. She told the St. Cloud Times she would seek to address the issue by replacing commissioners leading agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Human Services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will bring in all new commissioners, and we will make sure that the internal controls (are used),\u201d Robbins said. \u201cWe will hold agencies accountable for actually doing kind of the basics that would happen in any private sector business.\u201d<\/p>\n Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson is currently\u00a0conducting<\/a>\u00a0an investigation into fraud within the Minnesota Housing Stabilization Program, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Thompson has indicated that once his review is complete, the total fraud across Minnesota-administered programs\u2014including the Feeding Our Future case\u2014could surpass $1 billion.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Republicans are also hitting Walz for presiding over a multibillion-dollar deficit.<\/p>\n