TRANSCRIPT

                         August 07, 2024

                          NEWS PROGRAM

                                

 KEN MARTIN, CHAIRMAN, MINNESOTA DEMOCRATIC-FARMER-LABOR- (DLF)
                                PARTY

                                

                                

                                

 CNN NEWS CENTRAL INTERVIEW WITH KEN MARTIN, CHAIRMAN, MINNESOTA
                 DEMOCRATIC-FARMER-LABOR (DLF) PARTY

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     CNN NEWS CENTRAL INTERVIEW WITH KEN MARTIN, CHAIRMAN, MINNESOTA
     DEMOCRATIC-FARMER-LABOR (DLF) PARTY

     AUGUST 7, 2024

     SPEAKERS:
     KEN MARTIN, CHAIRMAN, MINNESOTA DEMOCRATIC-FARMER-LABOR (DLF)
     PARTY

     JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR

BERMAN: Ken Martin, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and the chair of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party joins us now, always good to speak to someone from the DFL. Thanks so much for being with us.

Look, you've heard Republicans talking this morning, saying that Governor Walz is anti-energy, soft on crime, bad for the Minnesota economy. What's your response to that?

MARTIN: Well, look, they're going to say whatever they're going to say. The reality is his record speaks for itself. Look, crime is down in Minnesota. We have record job growth. Minnesota is the economic engine for the upper Midwest. We have the best GDP, the lowest unemployment rate, more people working than ever before. We have real job growth and wage growth in this state.

The reality is that, you know, I think folks like Doug Burgum, North Dakota, South Dakota governors are jealous what Governor Walz has been able to do here in Minnesota. And his record is one of success. And, you know, look, when he came into being governor and into office, he sat down and he said he was going to build one Minnesota, one that worked for people throughout this state, and that's what he's done. It's not a surprise he's on the ticket because he's got a great record of actually doing things to improve people's lives here in this state.

BERMAN: One of the things that a lot of the people in the country saw and maybe first became introduced to Governor Walz was in 2020 during the chaos that was on the streets of Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd. And Governor Walz has been criticized for not calling in the National Guard sooner, criticized by some Democrats, including the mayor of Minneapolis. So, how do you explain how it took so long for him?

MARTIN: Well, look, I mean, the governor, you know, ultimately did call in the National Guard. He made sure he had the largest mobilization of the National Guard since World War II. And while Donald Trump was tweeting from the White House and encouraging people to take the law into their own hands, to become vigilantes, to go out and shoot people in the streets, Governor Walz was trying to solve one of the worst crises we've seen in our state. And he mobilized, as I said, the National Guard. He made sure we restored law and order.

And, you know, I think, you know, post the riots, I think the governor did exactly what a governor should do, which is to bring communities together, to help rebuild and to help the healing process and to make sure that we addressed, you know, some of the real challenges with policing in this state, but also with racism and what we saw. We never should see someone murdered in the streets ever again, like what happened to George Floyd. And I think the governor's leadership during that time was critical to moving this state forward.

BERMAN: Again, just to be clear, some of the criticism did come from Democrats. This wasn't just Republican criticism about how long it took to call in the Guard.

Let me ask you this, do you think Minnesota is a competitive state in the election?

MARTIN: Well, look, I mean, it's been close the last few election cycles. You know, we obviously have the longest streak of voting for the presidential nominee of any state in the nation. So, you can't take anything for granted in this state. You know, my old mentor in politics, Paul Wellstone, used to say, you run like you're 20 points behind even if you're 20 points ahead.

And so the reality for us is we don't take anything for granted. There's probably more competitive battleground states out there, for sure.

BERMAN: Like Pennsylvania?

MARTIN: Minnesota is on the battleground list. Pennsylvania, for sure, a critical battleground.

BERMAN: All right. Ken Martin, I appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you very much.

MARTIN: Thank you.

END