Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is considering a run for Minnesota governor after Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) abruptly ended his campaign for a third term on Monday.
Klobuchar, who has represented Minnesota in the Senate since 2007, has not made a final decision on whether to mount a run, according to reports, but she met with Walz on Sunday, just hours before he issued a statement withdrawing from the race.
In recent weeks, Walz had come under scrutiny over billions in federal dollars allegedly stolen in a fraud scheme that implicated members of the Somali community. Walz has not been accused of wrongdoing, but Republicans have sought to anchor his governorship to his management of the scandal.
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In a statement that avoided her own political aspirations, Klobuchar praised the “difficult decision” Walz made to “focus on his job and the challenges facing our state rather than campaigning and running for reelection.”
“He has always dedicated his career to delivering for Minnesota — from providing school breakfast and lunches to our kids to passing gun safety legislation to maintaining our state’s AAA bond rating. He is a true public servant,” she added.
Klobuchar is not the only Democrat whose name has been floated to replace Walz. Other statewide officials, among them Attorney General Keith Ellison, have been mentioned as possible successors.
But already, the pool of possible competitors has begun to shrink, as retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Dean Phillips, the former House Democrat who challenged President Joe Biden in 2024, have ruled out campaigns.
Walz’s deputy, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, also reiterated Monday that she is still running for Smith’s seat in the Senate. She is slated to face Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) in the Democratic primary later this year.
Minnesota is a safely blue state, and Walz won his last campaign by 8 points, but Democrats viewed the fraud allegations as a weight on his gubernatorial run, with some looking to Klobuchar, a relative centrist, as a viable replacement.
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She has risen through the ranks of Senate leadership and at one point was considered a possible contender for the No. 2 spot of Democratic whip, but Klobuchar also has ambitions beyond Congress and in 2020 mounted an unsuccessful run for president.
If she became governor, she would be tasked with appointing a temporary successor in the Senate, according to Minnesota law.