Walz ends bid for third term as Minnesota governor
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential pick, said Monday he is ending his bid for a third term as governor, less than four months after he announced his reelection campaign.
In remarks at the state capitol in St. Paul, Walz said negative attention and Republican attacks have contributed to an “extraordinarily difficult year for our state,” and he said the pressure has made it impossible for him to serve full time as governor while also being a candidate to keep his job.
Walz said, “Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who want to prey on our differences.” He added, “So I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.”
He did not take questions from reporters after speaking for about seven minutes, much of which involved repeating his earlier written statement announcing his decision.
Walz also blamed President Donald Trump and allies for worsening conditions in Minnesota, saying “Donald Trump and his allies — in Washington, in St. Paul, and online — want to make our state a colder, meaner place.” The remarks referenced the Trump administration’s approach to Minnesota programs and its focus on Somali immigrants in the state.
Link to child care fraud claims and federal funding
The AP report said Walz did not explicitly acknowledge the impact of a viral video from a right-wing influencer who claimed to have found rampant fraud at day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis. The report said the Trump administration has cited the video in its decision to cut off certain federal funding streams tied to child care programs.
The video’s creator, Nick Shirley, posted Monday on social media: “I ENDED TIM WALZ.” The AP report also said Trump wrote on social media that Walz was not running “because he was caught, REDHANDED” and accused him of “stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars,” describing the accusation as lacking evidence despite widely acknowledged fraud problems. Trump also wrote that Walz “has destroyed the State of Minnesota.”
Democrats and Republicans scramble for the seat
Walz’s exit scrambles the contest in a Democratic-leaning state where Democrats hold 24 of 50 governor’s seats nationwide, with 36 seats including Minnesota’s on the ballot this year, according to the AP report.
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is considering entering the Minnesota race, according to a person close to her who spoke on condition of anonymity and said she has not made a final decision.
The AP report said around a dozen Republicans are already running for the seat. They include MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, former state senator Scott Jensen, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor Chris Madel, and former executive Kendall Qualls.
Reactions from both parties
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Walz “entered public life for the right reasons and never lost sight of them,” and added that Walz’s guiding principle “has always been showing up and doing the work that actually makes their lives better.”
Klobuchar, posting on X, praised Walz as “a true public servant” and said his decision was difficult. Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer issued a brief statement that said only: “Good riddance.”
At the Republican Governors Association, spokeswoman Courtney Alexander blasted Walz for “failed leadership,” and said the state’s next Democratic candidate “will need to defend years of mismanagement and misplaced priorities.”
Walz defended his record, saying “a single taxpayer dollar wasted on fraud should be intolerable,” and insisting that his administration has been working to address the problem.
Background to Walz’s political rise
The AP report described Walz as a military veteran, union supporter, and former high school educator and coach. It said he helped enact protections for abortion rights and aid to families.
The report said Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election and described how Walz continued building a national profile after the Democrats’ defeat in November. It said Walz toured early caucus and primary states while criticizing Trump, and that in May he called on Democrats in South Carolina to stand up to the Republican president, saying, “Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner.”
More recently, the report said Walz had been frustrated in his efforts to enact new gun control measures after a mass shooting last August at Annunciation School in Minneapolis that left two children dead and injured dozens.