Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz has announced that he will seek a third term in the 2026 elections, hoping to beat the odds to become the longest-serving Governor in the state.
In a campaign video posted on YouTube, Walz disclosed that he’s running because his work is not done and he wants to make Minnesota a place where everyone has a chance to succeed.
“I’ve seen how we help each other through the hard times and boy, we’ve seen terrible times this year. I’m heartbroken and angry about the beautiful people we lost to gun violence.
“But it’s in these moments we have to come together. We can’t lose hope because I’ve seen what we can do when we work together.”
Tim Walz
He noted that he has always tried to do what’s right for Minnesota, and he will never stop fighting to protect the state from “the chaos, corruption, and cruelty coming out of Washington.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket after his attack line against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, then-Ohio Senator JD Vance — “These guys are just weird” — spread widely.
Walz had been building up his national profile since their defeat in November. He was a sharp critic of Trump as he toured early caucus and primary states. In May, he called on Democrats in South Carolina to stand up to Trump, saying, “Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner.”
Walz’s run for the vice presidency introduced the former high school teacher with a “Midwest Dad” image to a wider, national audience.
However, it also brought new scrutiny of his record as Governor and as a congressman before that, and his tendency to embellish or exaggerate details and mangle his words.
He proudly touted the accomplishments of the 2023 legislative session, when Democrats used their full control to enact a sweeping platform of liberal priorities, including free school meals for all students, and expanded protections for abortion and transgender rights.
However, he also faced renewed criticism from the right for his handling of the unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and a $300 million pandemic food aid fraud case. Republicans are sure to use that case and newer revelations of fraud in other state-run programs against him in 2026.
Minnesota’s most prominent GOP office-holder, US House Majority Whip, Tom Emmer, was among the Republicans who highlighted fraud under Walz’s watch. “Walz is a proven failure,” Emmer said in a statement today.
“Instead of boasting about a strong economy, great schools, or safe streets, the only thing Minnesotans can tout is the fact that Walz allowed the nation’s largest taxpayer-funded COVID program fraud to occur under his watch.”
Tom Emmer
Walz Seeks To Break Record
No Minnesota Governor has won a third consecutive term since the state switched to four-year terms in 1963 so with his announcement, Walz hopes to beat the odds to become the longest-serving Governor in the state.
However, no Minnesota Republican has won a statewide race since Tim Pawlenty was reelected to a second term as Governor in 2006.
On the Republican side of the race, former Business Executive and Army Veteran Kendall Qualls announced his candidacy in May and hopes to become Minnesota’s first Black Governor. Qualls lost the Republican party endorsement in 2022 to family physician and former state Senator Scott Jensen, who announced in July that he’s running again.
The only current Republican office-holder in the race so far is state Representative Kristin Robbins, of Maple Grove, who chairs a House committee formed this year to investigate fraud in government programs. She announced her candidacy August 20, 2025.
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