Staff photo by Fritz Busch Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen talks to several hundred supporters at MR Paving & Excavating in New Ulm Monday.He spoke at Sleepy Eye Brewing Company just prior to coming to New Ulm.

NEW ULM — Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen displayed lots of energy as he talked to several hundred supporters Monday in a campaign whistle-stop at MR Paving & Excavating Inc. in New Ulm

In a neck and neck race with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Jensen ran into a large garage full of people before he was introduced with some gusto by Bryce Boelter of New Ulm.

“When you collectively push your energy onto me, it’s humbling,” Jensen said. “I’m a Norwegian from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. I went to Sleepy Eye High School. If you really wanted to impress your date, you took her to New Ulm or maybe Mankato.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience,” said Jensen. “It’s a new world now. Things have changed. It’s not pretty. We’re taking kids out of elementary school and denying them the opportunity to dream and learn,” he added. “School is where they learn to read, write and do arithmetic.”

Jensen said last year, more police officers were assaulted by people they were trying to give tickets to.

“Why is crime so rampant? In 2020 when the riots hit and the governor was absent, it was a problem,” Jensen said. “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and domestic tranquility. That’s freedom. There were some demonstrators that were unfriendly. Tim Walz wanted to make sure they got a chance to vent by tearing down a Christopher Columbus statue. This is a pattern. Where did those people come from? Not Sleepy Eye, New Ulm or Brown County.”

Jensen accused Walz of “hooking our wagon to California car mandates.”

“We won’t have the car batteries or charging stations available by 2026,” he added. “Tim Walz is making Forrest Gump look like Albert Einstein.”

Jensen said what’s on the November ballot is inflation, climate, education and leadership.

“Tim Walz’ leadership is to demonize Matt Birk (Jensen’s running mate) and Scott Jensen as much as possible,” added Jensen. “Fifteen million dollars has been spent trying to beat me into a corner on issues not on the ballot. He’s trying to distract voters.”

Jensen said American is bleeding and calling out.

“This is our last, best chance to bring some sanity to government,” he said. “Tim Walz thinks he’s on the three-yard line with the media and big money, but he doesn’t have it. It’s you. He’s hunkered down in the basement.”

Jensen said he went into medicine to help people and he’s running for governor “because Tim Walz has hurt our kids.

“He made our frail, elderly die in nursing homes, bathing in their own stool and urine,” Jensen said. “We’ll take the arrows and get bruised and bloody, but right now we’re in trouble. Stand side by side. We’ll have school choice, elevate the Second Amendment. It’s not a gift. It’s a God-given right.”

Jensen said America needs a health freedom amendment.

“We need a health freedom bill of rights and the right to chose what your body will accept. Hold fast to your moral compass,” he added.

Prior to talking, Jensen said he believes the electoral college did it’s job, certifying the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.

Jensen said he would “tighten up” mail in ballots to eliminate possible glitches.

Regarding his prescribing opioids more than 94% of Minnesota doctors in 2013, Jensen said it was 46 Medicare patients.

“We were being compared to all Minnesota doctors receiving Medicare payments, including those that would never write opioid prescriptions.

“In my 60’s I had lots of hospice patients,” Jensen said. “When you take care of hospice patients, you’re not worried about anything other than dignity, pain control, inner hunger control and end of life things. Often times, narcotics play a prominent role in that. You’re talking about 46 patients, about 1 out of 100 I saw in a week.”

Jensen called the recent Twin Cities measles outbreak, a “pocket outbreak. We’ve had that before,” he added.

“I feel a lot of people don’t know if they’re living in an episode of Twilight Zone or thrown back into some sort of George Orwell ‘Animal Farm’ book,” Jensen said. “I think government is over-reaching in a way nobody would have dreamed of. Have we lost our minds? Have we lost common sense? I think people recognize that something is terribly upside down.”

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).