Former Minnesota resident unloads on Gov Walz after mother died 'of loneliness' during pandemic

FIRST ON FOX: A former longtime Minnesota resident who fled the state due to the governor's policies and her mother dying "alone" in a nursing home warns that "you do not want Tim Walz in a position of power over this country."

Cathy, who asked for her last name to be omitted, grew up in Minneapolis but moved to South Dakota in late 2020 as Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz's policies on crime and coronavirus prompted her to leave the state, she revealed during a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

Cathy said she specifically left Minnesota after her mother passed away of "loneliness" in a nursing home during the coronavirus pandemic.

"If it weren't for these rules put in place for COVID by Governor Walz, one of my brothers could have been there with her. She didn't have to be alone when she died, but their tyranny is the reason that she was alone when she passed," Cathy told Fox News Digital. "We all know she died of loneliness because how can you go on in a room by yourself for weeks and months and not be able to touch your family or see your family."

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Gov. Tim Walz waited several days to call in the National Guard as riots destroyed Minneapolis in 2020. (Getty Images)

Cathy detailed the negative effects Minnesota's state policies had on her mother's nursing home, saying that at one point the only way she could visit her mother was to stand outside of her window. Eventually, she said a one-person visit per day policy was put in place, but that limitations still prevented family visits.

Cathy visited her mother on the morning that she passed away.

"I did give her a kiss on the forehead before I left, but she passed while I was having chemo that day," she said. "I can't imagine the loneliness that my mother went through when she was dying."

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After growing up in Minneapolis, Cathy added that rampant crime has changed the city for the worse.

"It was so safe. It was just good. We could go anywhere and not be afraid," she said of safety in the city. "Minneapolis is just not safe anymore. Our son still lives just four blocks from the Minneapolis border, and they hear gunshots at night. It's very concerning how the crime is, and they don't seem to want to do anything to make things better, especially Tim Walz."

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) and Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz gesture during a campaign rally at the Thomas and Mack Center, University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 10, 2024.  (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Having lived under Walz's leadership, Cathy said a potential Harris-Walz administration "terrifies" her.

"Tim Walz is just not what he says he is. He's the ultimate liberal. He wants high taxes. He wants control of everything. He wants to allow kids to come in and have sex-change operations without their parents' consent. He has a sanctuary state, lets any illegal immigrants in and protects them," she said. "I just shudder to think what would happen if they had the presidency and the vice presidency, what they could do to our country."

"He's not a good old boy from southern Minnesota," Cathy told Fox. "He is a crazy liberal guy from southern Minnesota. And you don't want that. You don't want that for the country."

Cathy's experience in Minnesota echoes the experiences of many other residents who have warned against supporting Walz's vice presidential bid. Lisa Hanson, a former wine and coffee bistro owner thrown into jail for violating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s lockdown orders, told Fox News Digital that Gov. Walz essentially "shut down and destroyed" her small business, warning Americans, "You do not want tyranny at this level."  

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

"He shut down a lot of the mom-and-pop shops, those folks that were just trying to make a living and provide a great product and a great service," Hanson said. "In contrast, he allowed big-box stores, etc., to stay open. Really incredible, an incredible use of tyranny against the people." 

Walz has also received backlash for setting up a COVID-19 hotline in 2020 that allowed Minnesota residents to inform authorities about their suspicions related to neighbors potentially violating lockdown measures.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.