GOP-Endorsed Governor Candidate Scott Jensen Says Previous Gun Control Support Was 'Klutzy'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One of the main issues in statewide and local races this fall will be violent crime and gun violence.

Saturday night, newly-nominated Republican candidate for governor Dr. Scott Jensen apologized to delegates for once being on the wrong side of the gun control issue.

Back in 2017, Jensen was a first-time senator from Chaska. He stunned his Republican colleagues that year by being the co-author on two gun control measures. The first required universal background checks for gun sales and transfers and the second made it illegal for a gunowner to not report to police if a gun is stolen from them.

Back then, Jensen said these measures just made sense. But since them, Jensen has done a 180 and is against both those policies. Critics within his own party have criticized him for flip-flopping on the issue in order to win the GOP nomination.

Jensen was a guest on WCCO Sunday morning.

"My effort in 2018 was klutzy," he said. "It was born of a rookie's, non-veteran understanding of how things work, and so I apologized to the group. I put them in a place that made them uncomfortable and it was a mistake. I wish, if I had a mulligan I would have done it over."

Neither of those measures Jensen supported in 2017 passed the legislature. Jensen is both a gun owner and a member of the National Rifle Association. Gov. Tim Walz is a supporter of universal background checks.

EXTENDED VIDEO: Esme Murphy was joined by political analyst Abou Amara and former Minnesota Senate majority leader Amy Koch. They discussed what Jensen's nomination means for the campaign ahead. Watch below.

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