Walz has experience on a debate stage, capturing the changing positions of an abortion opponent

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz knows how to make the case for abortion rights on the debate stage. He’s done it before.

Just ask his Republican opponent in the 2022 Minnesota governor’s race, Dr. Scott Jensen, who was subjected to Walz’s attacks – and saw firsthand how effective Walz could be in exposing an opponent’s changing positions on abortion.

Jensen’s experience two years ago could shed light on what awaits him Tuesday when Walz debates GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance on CBS. Jensen said in an interview that Walz would be wise to talk about abortion.

“I think Tim Walz will say that loud and clear, and JD Vance needs to make it very clear that there will be no federal ban on abortion,” Jensen said. “That’s what Trump said, and they need to make that very clear.”

The family doctor and former state senator originally supported an abortion ban in his 2022 campaign and chose a vice president known as an outspoken anti-abortion candidate, former Minnesota Viking Matt Birk. That helped him win the Republican nomination, but wasn’t well received by the broader electorate.

When Walz and Jensen met for their second of three debates two years ago, Jensen tried to downplay abortion and insisted it was not on the ballot.

For Walz it certainly was.

“Throughout my career, I have trusted women to make their health decisions,” Walz said as they met at KTTC-TV’s studios in Rochester for their only televised prime-time debate. “I don’t think anyone sitting in this office should be standing between them.”

Jensen had claimed that state courts had already ruled that abortion rights were protected by the Minnesota Constitution and accused Walz of “fearmongering” by claiming they could be in danger. He said he wouldn’t ban abortion because he couldn’t – that would require a constitutional amendment.

But Walz pointed out that former President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade after suggesting in their confirmation hearings that it was settled law. In Minnesota, Walz said, governors appoint justices to the state Supreme Court.

“I just want to be very clear: This is on the ballot,” Walz said. “It will have an impact on generations to come.”

Vance and Trump are treading cautiously after their previous support for restricting access to abortion, saying they now want to leave it up to the states.

Trump repeatedly declined to say whether he would veto a national abortion ban during his Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, insisting that a ban would not pass Congress anyway. Still, he has often taken credit for appointing the three justices who helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion. He has backed away from statements he made in March that he would support a nationwide ban.

Vance himself had spoken out strongly against abortion in the run-up to his Senate run in 2022, but joined Trump this year. Harris and Walz urged their audience not to trust Trump and Vance on abortion rights.

Walz’s abortion rights comments from debates with Jensen in 2022 sound like statements he might try again in a conflict with Vance, said Kevin Parsneau, a political science professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato. Despite comments from Trump and Vance that a national ban is off the table and the matter is in the hands of the states, Walz said the next president and Congress could override anything the states do, said he.

For Walz, who defeated Jensen by nearly 8 percentage points, not only was abortion rights a winning issue in 2022, the issue also helped Democrats regain control of both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature and the governor’s office for the first time in eight years to take over. That “trifecta” allowed them to pass a sweeping progressive agenda in 2023 that included stronger protections for abortion rights — and put Walz on Harris’ radar when she needed a vice president.

Both Walz and Jensen felt uncomfortable during their third debate on Minnesota Public Radio.

Walz essentially ignored Jensen’s criticism of his 1995 drunk driving arrest in Nebraska, and Jensen called him the “godfather of the crime epidemic.” Walz lapsed into some rambling answers, prompting Jensen to quip a point when the moderator offered him a rebuttal: “Thanks, I almost fell asleep.”

Walz will make adjustments on the move, Jensen said, so Vance will have to plan his attacks carefully.

“Tim Walz has an affable personality. I worked with him when I was in the Senate,” Jensen said. “He’s a happy guy. If you try to turn Tim Walz into something evil, I don’t think it will work. Because Tim Walz is not evil. He is an experienced politician who learned on the job.”

The Trump-Vance campaign has already criticized Walz’s response to the unrest that accompanied protests over the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer, and Vance could criticize it again bring up. While Trump praised Walz then, Republicans now say Walz should have moved more quickly to deploy the National Guard. The governor said in the KTTC-TV debate that he was proud of how he and Minnesota first responders responded to the crisis, “no matter how much I am vilified by Scott.”

Vance has already previewed attacks on Walz’s military history. Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years but retired when he first ran for Congress in 2005, before his unit deployed to Iraq. He described himself as a retired master sergeant for a time and served as such for less than a year. However, his rank was downgraded to the rank of Master Sergeant for service reasons because he had not completed the required coursework. His careless use of language included the claim by some that he had served in combat when this was not the case.

Vance, who served four years in the Marines, including six months as a military journalist in Iraq, has accused Walz of “stolen valor.”

“I’m damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz responded in a speech at a union convention. “And I firmly believe that you should never denigrate another person’s length of service. To anyone brave enough to put on this uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just want to say a few simple words. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

Vance thanked Walz for his service in a social media post, but accused Walz of lying about his record.

“I look forward to discussing this more in a debate,” Vance wrote.

A key challenge for Vance, Jensen said, will be making sure Walz answers the questions asked of him.

“You shouldn’t underestimate Tim Walz because he has the ability to speak quickly and sincerely, and yet without the audience noticing he can often go on for a minute or two and everything somehow falls into place. On the surface OK, but if They stop and ask, ‘Did he answer the question?’ He didn’t,” Jensen said. “Tim Walz will throw word salad at you and you won’t even know it’s happening.”

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or distributed.