U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has officially launched her campaign for Minnesota governor, weeks after Gov. Tim Walz dropped out of the race amid mounting pressure on his record handling fraud in state government programs.
The fourth-term Democratic senator announced her candidacy for the state’s top office Thursday morning. She had been considering running for governor since as early as January, when Walz announced he wouldn’t seek a third term in office.
In a video announcing her candidacy, Klobuchar noted recent tragedies in Minnesota — the assassination of former House Speaker Melissa Hortiman and her husband, the Annunciation Catholic School shooting last summer and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents this month during an enforcement sweep this month directed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
“Minnesota, we’ve been through a lot,” Klobuchar said. “In these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom, and simple decency and goodwill. These times call for leaders 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.”
Klobuchar’s announcement comes less than a week before the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s endorsement process begins with precinct caucuses on Feb. 3.
Last week, Klobuchar filed paperwork to run for governor with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, and sources close to the campaign offered a strong signal she’d enter the race.
Walz reportedly met with Klobuchar the weekend before he withdrew from the race on Jan. 5.
The second-term governor, who withdrew his candidacy as scrutiny continued to build on his handling of widespread Medicaid fraud in state programs, blamed “political gamesmanship” by President Donald Trump and Republicans over fraud for his withdrawal.
Klobuchar, the third-ranking Senate Democrat, has a clear path toward the DFL nomination for Minnesota governor. No other prominent Democratic-Farmer-Labor figures have suggested interest in running.
Keith Ellison, a DFLer, this week said he would not run for governor, but will instead seek reelection as attorney general. DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon is seeking a fourth term in his current office.
Klobuchar has performed well statewide in every election since she first won office in 2006 and has always led her Republican competitors by double-digit percentage margins. No Republican has won an election for statewide office since 2006.
Before winning her Senate seat, Klobuchar served as Hennepin County attorney. In 2020, she ran for president, but suspended her campaign in March of that year and went on to endorse Joe Biden.
In her campaign announcement, Klobuchar touted her bipartisan record in the U.S. Senate and pledged to combat fraud in state government — something former staff at the U.S. attorney’s office estimated could run into the billions in Minnesota.
“I’ll stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” Kloubuchar said. “I don’t like fraud or waste in government. That’s why I went after crime as county attorney. I will make sure the people who steal taxpayer money go to jail and root out the fraud by changing the way state government works.”
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Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith has chosen not to seek reelection this year and that race has attracted numerous candidates.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Billy Nord, a manager at a streaming company, are vying for the Democratic endorsement in that race.
Republicans running for governor in 2026 include House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, 2022 gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen, a doctor who rose to prominence for his criticism of state COVID policy; state Rep. Kristin Robbins; 2022 Republican endorsement contender Kendall Qualls, a former congressional candidate; and businessman Patrick Knight.
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