Sen. Amy Klobuchar to run for Minnesota governor

Jan. 29 (UPI) — Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Thursday that she will run for governor of Minnesota after Gov. Tim Walz announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Klobuchar, D-Minn., is serving her fourth term in the Senate.

“Minnesotans, we’ve been through a lot. And I believe this moment calls for grit, resilience and faith in each other,” she said on X, where she posted her announcement video. “I believe we must stand up for what’s right. And fix what’s wrong. Today, I’m announcing my candidacy for Governor.”

“I like my job in the Senate,” she added. “But I love our state more than any job.”

Walz announced Jan. 5 that he wouldn’t seek re-election, saying he needed to focus on defending the state from fraud allegations instead of running a campaign.

No other Democrats have joined the race since Walz made his announcement. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has said he wouldn’t run.

Minnesota is facing Operation Metro Surge, the federal government’s surge of immigration agents in the state. Two protesters have been killed by federal agents since it began: Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. Those deaths have fueled protests in the sub-zero temperatures of Minnesota.

“And I’m running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love,” Klobuchar said in her video.

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

“These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration. But who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state,” she added.

Klobuchar ran for president in 2024, but dropped out to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She was elected to the Senate in 2006 and was the first woman elected U.S. Senator from Minnesota. She is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and is on the Senate Judiciary Committee.