Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, announced Monday morning that he has changed his mind and will not be running for a third term as governor. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who has traditionally won statewide races by double digits, is reportedly considering running for governor herself.
Walz announced that he “came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” and trashed President Donald Trump, stating that Trump and his allies “want to make our state a colder, meaner place.”
Minnesota has to come first – always.
Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota the best place to live and raise kids.
I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work. pic.twitter.com/AYbvcOzyPI
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 5, 2026
The decision has followed weeks of stories about a series of fraud scandals in Minnesota, which Republicans and a viral YouTuber have claimed, falsely, that the local media and Walz and other Democrats have ignored. There have been multiple, high-profile trials and convictions, and the subject has been covered regularly by Minnesota reporters going back several years.
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Trump also, over the weekend, shared a video on Truth Social that implied Walz had a hand in the assassination last year of Minnesota legislative leader Melissa Hortman; the video also misspelled Hortman’s name. This drew a rebuke from Hortman’s children, as well as Minnesota politicians on both sides of the aisle.
On Monday, perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump took a victory lap on Truth Social over Walz’s decision not to run again.
“Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor will possibly leave office before his Term is up but, in any event, will not be running again because he was caught, REDHANDED, along with Ilhan Omar, and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars. I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS.'”
Almost everything in that post is demonstrably untrue.
Walz has not been credibly accused of corruption or personal involvement in the fraud scandals, nor has Rep. Ilhan Omar. Neither of them stands accused of “stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars,” much less been “caught red-handed.” There is also no indication that Walz plans to leave office early, as he still has a year remaining on his term.
And finally, while Walz has not been personally connected to any fraud, Trump has been convicted on 34 counts of that very crime.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
