Gov. Walz Announces He Won’t Seek Third Term

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced Monday that he will not seek re-election, ending a potential bid for an unprecedented third consecutive term.

Walz released a statement calling 2025 “an extraordinarily difficult year for our state,” adding that “it ended on a particularly sour note.”

The 61-year-old DFL governor made reference to the fraud investigations that have embroiled the state and latched onto by his Republican opponents.

“For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity,” Walz said in his statement. “And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters, we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.”

The fraud scandal involves numerous investigations centering around Minnesota social service programs. Federal prosecutors have estimated that potential losses from Minnesota Medicaid programs could surpass $9 billion. Walz has disputed that estimate. Last month, Walz appointed Tim O’Malley, former superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, to strengthen fraud prevention.

“Make no mistake: We should be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can’t earn the public’s trust. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve made systemic changes to the way we do business,” said Walz.

Walz said the fight against fraud has been made more difficult by “political gamesmanship.”

Added Walz: “We’ve got Republicans here in the legislature playing hide-and-seek with whistleblowers. We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers and demanding access to our children. We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on. 

“It is disgusting. And it is dangerous,” he said.

Walz acknowledged his announcement to end his gubernatorial bid “may come as a surprise” to some, but said he made his decision after reflecting over the holidays with family.

“I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests 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 prey on our differences,” Walz said.

Candidates for 2026 

A dozen Republican candidates have declared their intention to run for governor. Several of them have ties to the CCX News coverage area in the Twin Cities northwest suburbs: Maple Grove state Rep. Kristin Robbins; Jeff Johnson, former Hennepin County commissioner and executive director of New Hope nonprofit Can Do Canines; and Patrick Knight, a Plymouth resident and CEO of Good Sense Foods.

Other Republican candidates include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Scott Jensen, whom Walz defeated in 2022; Kendall Qualls, who narrowly lost the GOP endorsement in 2022; MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell; and Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel. Demuth’s running mate is Maple Grove attorney Ryan Wilson.

On the DFL side, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is reportedly considering a run for governor. Klobuchar is a Plymouth native and graduate of Wayzata High School.

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