Saying Minnesota has ‘been through a lot,’ Klobuchar announces bid for governor

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced her run for Minnesota governor early Thursday with a video posted on X, following Gov. Tim Walz’s recent announcement that he was ending his bid for a third term in the role.

“Minnesotans, we’ve been through a lot,” Klobuchar said in the video, going on to recount several tragedies the state has faced in recent months, including the separate shootings of two American citizens by ICE agents.

“We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is,” she said. “But in these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom and simple decency and goodwill.”

“I believe we will stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” Klobuchar added before making it official. “That’s why, today, I’m announcing my candidacy for governor of Minnesota.”

Klobuchar, who won a fourth Senate term in 2024, has racked up double-digit wins in each of her races. In 2020, she ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign among a crowded field of Democratic candidates.

When Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz announced that he would drop his bid for reelection, the idea of Klobuchar entering the race began to emerge.

“I like my job very much,” Klobuchar told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday’s announcement. “And Minnesota has given me this honor of serving them in the Senate. But I love my state more.”

Walz faced criticism from state Republicans to President Trump for allegations of rampant social-services fraud on his watch. There is no evidence that Walz took part in the fraud or committed any other crimes, but his political opponents say that he failed to stop the wholesale theft of taxpayer funds during his time in office.

As a sitting governor, Walz was not facing any competition from other Democratic hopefuls. Yet more than a dozen Republicans are in the governor’s race, including House Speaker Lisa Demuth, the state’s top Republican, businessman Kendall Qualls, state Rep. Kristin Robbins and My Pillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell.

Klobuchar’s entrance could upend that GOP field as well, as some of the candidates reassess their chances of defeating a durable statewide official instead of the politically wounded Walz.

Last week, when Klobuchar filed initial paperwork to run for governor, the Minnesota Republican Party called on her to resign from the Senate while she campaigns for another office.

“Minnesota needs a governor who is all in — not a Washington insider running a gutless political audition,” Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash said in a statement. “If Klobuchar can’t even choose which job she wants, Minnesotans can be confident she won’t have the backbone to fix the problems Democrats created.”

Former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is among those who have said Republicans’ chances at winning the governor’s seat for the first time in 20 years would weaken if Klobuchar joined the race.

“That’s going to fundamentally change the governor’s race in Minnesota,” Pawlenty told MPR News. “She would be a very, very formidable candidate in that race and so it changes everything.”