Klobuchar, a U.S. senator from Minnesota, made her announcement in a video described by the Associated Press as a bid to steer the Democratic ticket toward a statewide contest that is already drawing national attention. She said the state needs leaders who can “stand up” without taking a rigid approach that blocks “common ground,” and she framed the race around what she said Minnesotans have endured in the past year, including the federal government’s immigration crackdown and recent violence involving federal officers.
In her remarks, Klobuchar directly invoked President Donald Trump and said the moment calls for people who can “stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration — but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.” She also said, “Minnesota, we’ve been through a lot,” positioning the campaign around a record of challenges that she said predate the federal immigration crackdown.
The announcement arrives after Gov. Tim Walz ended his campaign for a third term earlier this month. Walz’s decision came amid criticism over mismanagement of taxpayer funding for child care programs, setting up a political test for whoever Democrats put forward to carry the governorship forward.
AP reported that Klobuchar avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into Minnesota’s child care programs, even as Republicans have circulated the issue as a campaign theme. The article said Republicans are expected to use the child care investigations and Trump-linked claims of state fraud to question Democrats’ ability to reduce wrongdoing and curb the growth of government.
The Republican field, meanwhile, is already shaping a likely marquee contest among the 36 governorships scheduled for election in November. The AP story listed MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, a 2020 election denier described as close to Trump; Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator and the party’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins as active candidates.
Demuth, according to AP, quickly responded to Klobuchar’s move with a statement and campaign materials designed to argue that Klobuchar cannot be trusted to end fraud in public programs or stop government growth. Demuth said in a statement: “Minnesotans only need to look at her record to know that she simply cannot deliver the change that our state needs, and would be nothing more than a third term of Tim Walz.”
On the immigration front, AP said federal agents have detained children and adults who are U.S. citizens, entered homes without warrants, and engaged protesters in violent exchanges. The article cited the early-January shooting death of Renee Good and the Saturday killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti as part of the evidence Democrats are likely to cite in arguing that federal actions have caused harm in Minnesota communities.
The campaign will also unfold amid a budget and governance standoff at the federal level, AP reported, where Democrats in Congress have voted against spending bills funding Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. AP said that standoff could lead to a partial government shutdown, adding another layer of national political stakes to the Minnesota race.
Klobuchar enters with a statewide profile and a track record of winning across Minnesota, AP said. In 2024, she won reelection by nearly 16 percentage points, the story reported, and received 135,000 more votes than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who outpaced Trump by fewer than 5 percentage points.
AP also described her political history as including attention during Trump’s first term for questioning judicial nominees, work as Senate Rules Committee chair during bipartisan investigations of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and her 2020 presidential run as a moderate. She is also noted in the report as having announced cancer treatment in 2021 and in 2024 as cancer-free but undergoing another round of radiation.
If Klobuchar wins the governor’s race or chooses to resign her Senate seat, the path for her replacement would depend on timing, AP reported. The article said resigning slightly early could give her successor a seniority advantage, and that a special election would later choose a successor to finish the rest of her term.
According to AP, Klobuchar becomes the fourth sitting senator to announce plans to run for governor in 2026, with the other races in Alabama, Colorado and Tennessee.