In a campaign launch speech to hundreds of supporters at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis on Friday night, Gov. Tim Walz said he would use an unprecedented third four-year term in office to enact stricter gun laws and protect the state from what he called the “nightmare” of the second Trump administration.

While Walz has not introduced any new significant policy proposals since officially announcing his candidacy, he has touted his achievements as governor, including funding boosts for K-12 education, worker protections, and the passage of gun safety measures like universal background checks.

On Friday, he asked voters for more time to finish work, including new gun laws.

“We have some unfinished business to attend to,” he told supporters. “We’ve made important strides. … We’ve expanded background checks, we’ve added red flag laws and we funded mental health care — but it’s not even close to enough,” Walz told his supporters.

“As governor, I’m going to use the power of this office to figure out how to help stop this bloodshed,” he continued.

Much could change between now and the election in November 2026, but in its earliest phases, top issues in the race for Minnesota governor include addressing significant fraud in social programs and whether to pass new gun control legislation in the wake of the June assassinations of former House speaker Melissa Hotman and the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis in August.

Walz’s initial campaign pitch is focused on preserving gains made during his first two terms, like paid family and medial leave and universal free school lunches, gun control measures and opposing the “cruelty and corruption” of Donald Trump’s second presidency.

No governor has ever won a third four year term in state, and Walz’s record as governor and elevation to the national stage last year as Democratic presidential candidate’s running mate Kamala Harris could harm his credibility as a moderate who can perform in rural and urban areas alike, many political observers say. Still, the exact effects are to be seen.

“Walz did particularly well in his former House district in southeastern Minnesota, and that helped to boost his margin in his first two election contests,” said Steven Schier, a professor emeritus of political science at Carleton College in Northfield.

“The question is whether his popularity has eroded out there and in greater Minnesota — to the extent that his reelection becomes more questionable in 2026,” he continued.

Despite that potential erosion, Schier said the contest for the governor’s office will likely center around winning over suburban and independent voters. Walz’s chances of reelection will also depend on the level of Trump’s unpopularity in Minnesota, he said.

Government fraud

A major issue absent from Walz’s Friday speech was the issue of significant fraud in state government programs, an issue that’s shaping up to be the focus of Republicans in the early stages of the election.

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Minnesota U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson has said he believes fraudsters have stolen close to $1 billion from the state in recent years, and investigations continue to unearth new schemes.

Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Maple Grove Republican now running for governor, leads a GOP-created House fraud committee, has made the problem a central issue to her campaign.

“A third Walz term would be an unprecedented DISASTER,” she said in a social media statement after Walz announced his reelection campaign. “Under Tim Walz, Minnesota has seen higher taxes, higher crime, and rampant fraud.”

Walz announced an executive order Tuesday directing agencies to “intensify” fraud detection efforts and created a new anti-fraud division in the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension earlier this year.

And in the past, he’s pointed out that fraudsters are being held criminally accountable — more than 50 of 75 charged in the Feeding Our Future scandal, where authorities say fraudsters stole $250 million intended for needy children during the pandemic.

Still, fraud investigations are likely to remain in the headlines, presenting a lasting vulnerability for the governor, Schier said.

Soon after Walz officially announced he would be running for governor again earlier this week, federal prosecutors announced eight charges in what they said was a scheme to defraud a federally funded housing stabilization services program run by the state.

“The problem is this fraud issue doesn’t go away very soon, because there’ll be additional relevant investigations, prosecutions and so forth, well into the election year,” Schier said. “Obviously, Kristin Robbins is hoping to ride that issue.”

Gun violence

Walz officially announced his bid for a third term as governor as he continues to meet with DFL and Republican leaders for negotiations on a potential special legislative session on guns in the wake of last month’s school shooting in Minneapolis.

Walz and Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators are calling for new policies including a state ban on semiautomatic assault-style weapons like the AR-15, which was used in the Annunciation shooting.

Republicans, who say school security and improving mental health services are the best way to avoid future tragedies, have firmly opposed any new gun control measures. In his speech, Walz criticized Republicans for talking about “anything except what’s at the heart of this matter.”

A series of public Senate hearings this week failed to yield any consensus among DFL and GOP Senators, raising questions about whether a special session would result in any meaningful legislation being passed.

No gun control bill could pass without bipartisan support in a narrowly divided Legislature, where the House is tied 67-67 between the DFL and GOP and the Senate is a one-seat DFL majority.

Still, Walz says he’ll call lawmakers back to the Capitol “one way or the other.”

Unprecedented 3rd term

Walz was first elected in 2018 and won a second term in 2022. No governor has served three consecutive terms in Minnesota history. Rudy Perpich tried in 1990 but lost to Republican Arne Carlson.

Perpich served as governor from 1976 to 1979 after Gov. Wendell Anderson resigned to allow Perpich to appoint him to the U.S. Senate. Perpich lost the 1978 election, but won in 1982 and again in 1986.

No other prominent DFL candidates have publicly signaled plans to run for governor in 2026.

Besides Robbins, several Republicans have announced plans to seek their party’s gubernatorial nomination, including 2022 gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen and Kendall Qualls, who sought the GOP nomination in 2022.

No Republican has won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006.

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Pablo López raced off the mound after a ball that had deflected off of his foot. After he got to it, he picked it up and shoveled it to first baseman Kody Clemens, the throw just beating the runner, Angel Martínez.

López dove to the ground as he tossed the ball, flopping face-first into the grass. He laid down for a brief second before pushing himself back up, all smiles, and giving a thumbs up as he walked back to the mound.

He may have gotten the out, but the third-inning play ended up leading to an early departure for the pitcher, who was in his third start back since suffering a teres major strain that kept him out for three months.

López departed after four innings and just 61 pitches in the Twins’ 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at Target Field, getting five more outs after the play before leaving with what the Twins called right forearm tightness as a result of the dive.

The starter gave up two runs in his abbreviated outing, both coming in the first inning as he pitched through heavy rain.

For much of the day, those were the only two runs on the board as the Twins (66-87) were shut down by Cleveland (82-71) rookie starter Parker Messick for the first five innings of his start. They finally broke through in the sixth, using hits from Austin Martin, Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis to produce a pair of runs.

The score remained that way until the eighth when Guardians star José Ramírez sparked a two-out rally with a double. The Twins then intentionally walked Kyle Manzardo to face Bo Naylor, who, after Ramírez and Manzardo stole third and second base respectively, brought them both home. Cleveland tacked on another pair of runs off reliever Michael Tonkin in the ninth.

The late offense lifted the hottest team in baseball to its eighth-straight victory. The Guardians have now won 13 of their past 14 games and with another Detroit loss on Friday, they moved 2 1/2 games behind first place in a division race that at one point seemed out of reach.

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Mahtomedi High School officials canceled Friday night’s football game against Bloomington Kennedy, saying the Washington County Sheriff’s Office had advised them to do so due to ongoing law enforcement activity in the area.

The sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page that its deputies were looking for two “possible armed” suspects on Friday night. Authorities asked residents in the immediate area of 75th Street North and Inwood Way North to shelter in place during the search.

The high school is at 8000 75th Street North, which is about a mile away from that intersection.

School officials said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” in a Facebook post.

No further information was immediately available.

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Charges say a 64-year-old Mora, Minn., man became angry with banter between two members of a Beatles cover band during a concert at a White Bear Lake church and then sent off emails threatening to kill two church music directors in retaliation for Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

John Allan Sandeen Jr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

John Allan Sandeen Jr. was arrested Wednesday and charged in Ramsey and Hennepin counties on Friday with several felony counts for allegedly sending threatening emails over several days to the music director at White Bear Lake Methodist Church and one to a member of the cover band who is also the music director at a church in Maple Grove.

Sandeen had an initial hearing Friday on the Ramsey County charges and remained jailed on $100,000 bail. His attorney declined to comment on the allegations.

According to the charges, the music director at White Bear Lake Methodist Church reported to police Monday that Sandeen sent him a series of threatening emails, the first on Sept. 12.

He said he’s known Sandeen for decades — that he once taught him — and that they’ve remained in contact through phone and email the past 15 years.

Sandeen attended a Sept. 7 concert at the church by the Beatles Ensemble, which played songs by the Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the music director told police. He said he spoke to Sandeen at the concert and that he seemed like “his usual self,” the charges say.

At some point during the concert, two band members engaged in “stage banter” between songs:

“When ‘The Fool on the Hill’ was released, we all thought the song was a reference to President Nixon, but it turns out to have been a reference to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whom the Beatles had met in 1967,” one said.

The other replied, “Interesting. I did not know that. But also, President Nixon was working with the FBI in an attempt to have John Lennon deported.”

“I’m sure glad they don’t do that anymore,” the first band member said.

The other then said, “Let’s hear it for ICE!”

The complaint said Sandeen “apparently took offense to the stage banter believing musicians should just shut up and play.”

‘Your people killed my friend’

Sandeen sent an email to the White Bear Lake church music director, writing that “music speaks volumes. We don’t need (the band member’s) opinions. Yah he is going to be with Charlie Kirk.”

He also wrote: “Charlie Kirk was a friend of mine” and told him to “let all your liberal leftie friends know” that he is “(expletive) very (expletive) angry. … (The band member) better have (expletive) eyeballs on his back.”

Sandeen emailed the band member the same day and referenced his comment about ICE, saying, “you think that ICE is evil. I think that you and your cohorts have killed my friend Charlie. … It’s fair game to let the hunted know that they are hunted. You are now advised.”

Other emails Sandeen sent that same day and the next — 16 writings in all — included threats that the music director “better (expletive) hide” and that he was going to “break your (expletive) fingers,” and also do physical harm to the band member, according to the complaint.

Sandeen further mentioned the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist that federal prosecutors allege was intentionally targeted by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson at Utah State University.

“Your people killed my friend in front of his wife and children,” Sandeen allegedly wrote to the music director, adding that he was “going to cut your (expletive) throat.”

The director told police the emails made him fearful for himself and his church members, and that he did not respond to them.

Police learned that Sandeen was in a hangar at Rush City Regional Airport. He was pulled over and arrested after leaving the airport.

Officers executed a search warrant on Sandeen’s pickup truck and hangar. They recovered a box of shotgun shells and a plastic bag of ammunition from the hangar.

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In an interview with investigators, Sandeen initially said he didn’t know anything about threatening emails. He then told them he was probably drunk and said some “crazy (expletive),” the complaint continued.

He said musicians are supposed to play music and not give political opinions, then complained that had he known the concert was going to be a political rally he would not have attended.

Hennepin County prosecutors charged Sandeen with four counts of threats of violence.

In Ramsey County, he faces one count each of stalking and threats of violence.