Walz donors were handed $15 billion in state payments

Topline: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted $890,000 in campaign donations from employees – including C-suite executives – ­of 434 state vendors between 2019 and 2022, a new report from OpenTheBooks found.

Those same companies collected nearly $15 billion in payments from the state between 2019 and 2023, according to the state checkbook.

Key facts: The donations all went to Walz’s campaign for reelection as governor of Minnesota and were made before he became the Democratic vice presidential nominee.