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2026 Election

Amy Klobuchar Is Running for Governor in Minnesota

The Democratic senator is vying to succeed Gov. Tim Walz, who dropped his reelection bid.

Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Amy Klobuchar talks on the phone as she walks to a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 6, 2023. Alex Brandon/AP

By Christa Dutton

January 29, 2026 07:14 AM

Updated: January 29, 2026 07:24 AM

“I believe we must stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” she said in a video. “That’s why today, I am announcing my candidacy for Governor of the state of Minnesota.”

Her decision to run comes after two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minnesota. The senator has demanded that federal immigration agents leave the state.

“I’m running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love,” she said in the video.

Her announcement had been expected for days. Klobuchar had said she was considering a run after Gov. Tim Walz announced he was dropping out of the race. Walz ended his campaign amid heightened scrutiny from conservatives and the Trump administration over an ongoing fraud investigation within the state’s social services program.

Walz was never accused of any wrongdoing. The state, under Walz’s leadership, has investigated dozens of people who have been convicted of crimes related to stealing public funds.

“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,” Klobuchar said in her announcement.

Klobuchar’s entrance into the race scrambles Republicans’ campaign strategy in the state.

Republicans were eager to run against Walz, said Preya Samsundar, a Republican strategist with campaign experience in Minnesota and the Midwest.

“The race does get a bit more difficult,” Samsundar said. But “the Republican message doesn’t really change.”

The party should continue to blame the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party, Minnesota’s Democrat Party affiliate, for the alleged widespread fraud, she said.

Klobuchar is a tougher opponent, though, Republicans in the state told NOTUS. The four-term senator has won by more than 15 points in each bid she’s made for Senate since 2006, though her margins against Republicans have been shrinking since 2012.

If Klobuchar is elected governor, she would appoint her successor to the Senate. Minnesota state law says that a special election is held at the second November election after a vacancy occurs.

The Republican ticket for governor includes MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Lisa Demuth, and Rep. Kristin Robbins.