Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic VP candidate, says he’ll seek a third term as Minnesota’s governor

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday he will seek a third term in the 2026 elections, hoping to beat the odds to become the longest-serving governor in a state where voters have usually said two terms were plenty.

In a campaign video posted on YouTube, Walz said 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,” he said. “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.”

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 Sen. 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.”

“I’ve always tried to do what’s right for Minnesota, and I’ll never stop fighting to protect us from the chaos, corruption, and cruelty coming out of Washington,” Walz said in his announcement.

Walz, 61, has been frequently mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, but he told Axios in July he would not run for president if he sought reelection.

His close political ally, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, was assassinated in June by a man posing as a police officer. Walz delivered a eulogy at her funeral. Trump refused to call Walz to offer condolences, saying it would have been a waste of time.

Walz and Minnesota mourned again late last month when two children were killed and 21 people were injured in a shooting at a Minneapolis church where students from an affiliated school were celebrating Mass.

Walz then said he would call a special session of the Legislature to pass school and gun safety laws, but he has not set a date yet, nor proposed specific legislation for it. He said in his announcement Tuesday that one of his priorities is to “get serious about gun violence.”

Walz’s run for the vice presidency introduced the former high school teacher with a “Midwest Dad” image to a wider, national audience. But 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.

But 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, U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, was among the Republicans on Tuesday who highlighted fraud under Walz’s watch.

“Walz is a proven failure,” Emmer said in a statement. “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.”

No Minnesota governor has won a third consecutive term since the state switched to four-year terms in 1963. But 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 GOP endorsement in 2022 to family physician and former state senator Scott Jensen, who announced in July that he’s running again.

The only current GOP office-holder in the race so far is state Rep. Kristin Robbins, of Maple Grove, who chairs a House committee formed this year to investigate fraud in government programs. She announced her candidacy Aug. 20.