Shark Tank’s O’Leary Says Tim Walz ‘Great Governor’ — For Texas, Florida, And Other Red States: ‘People Are Fleeing!’

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) a “great governor” — just not for the state he actually works in.

O’Leary told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Saturday that the market is suffering from “policy volatility” because investors are unsure of Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic policies. O’Leary argued that while vice presidents are “usually inconsequential,” he and others are looking more closely at Walz, Harris’s running mate , and his work at governor.

“The lack of policy coming out of the Harris camp — and I understand why, and I think she has her own strategy and she’s not going to talk to reporters, I get it — so many teams, including mine, and I’ve never done this before, went to go look at Minnesota because that VP candidate has more of a track record on economic policy,” O’Leary said.

The venture capitalist said he was “shocked” at the numbers he saw, including people “fleeing” the state.

“I’m trying to be bipartisan here, but it’s one of the eight states where capital is fleeing and people are fleeing and jobs are fleeing. I was shocked,” he said.

O’Leary pointed to the state tax as well as a tax increase Walz put in place on investments that total more than $1 million a year. O’Leary argued such a move pushes retirees out of the state.

“Let me give you a couple data points. The state tax there is 9.8%, then Walz put on a super tax for people that are investing more than a million dollars. So all of his retirees have moved out of the state. Billions of dollars,” O’Leary said.

According to Census data , Minnesota lost a little over 4800 residents to domestic migration in 2023. Between 2021 and 2022, the loss of residents totaled nearly 40,000.

O’Leary said other states owe Walz an “award.”

“South Dakota should give an award to him. They’re growing jobs in South Dakota four times faster than Walz is growing them in Minnesota, and so is North Dakota,” he argued. “So he’s a great governor for Texas, he’s a great governor for Florida, he’s a great governor for South Dakota and North Dakota, but he’s not a good governor for Minnesota because he has taken the job creation there and wiped it out.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News .