MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� U.S. Sen. said Thursday she is running for governor of Minnesota, promising to take on while unifying a state that has endured a series of challenges even before the federal government’s .
Klobuchar’s decision gives Democrats a high-profile candidate and proven statewide winner as their party tries to hold onto the office occupied by The 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Walz for a third term this month amid criticism over mismanagement of .
鈥淢innesota, we’ve been through a lot,鈥� Klobuchar said in . 鈥淭hese times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration 鈥� but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.鈥�
Klobuchar cited Trump鈥檚 immigration , federal officers , of a state legislative leader and that killed multiple children 鈥� all within the past year. She avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into the child care programs that Trump has made a political cudgel.
鈥淚 believe we must stand up for what鈥檚 right and fix what鈥檚 wrong,鈥� Klobuchar said.
Klobuchar becomes the to announce plans to run for governor in 2026. The other races are in Alabama, Colorado and Tennessee.
Multiple Minnesota Republicans are campaigning in what could become a marquee contest among 36 governorships on the ballot in November. Among them are MyPillow founder and chief executive , a 2020 election denier who is close to Trump; state ; , a former state senator who was the party鈥檚 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.
Running for governor is a relatively low-risk move for Klobuchar. If she loses, she鈥檒l keep her Senate seat and won鈥檛 be up for reelection until 2030. If she wins, either she or Walz will appoint someone to fill the vacancy, depending on the timing of her resignation from the Senate. Resigning a little early would give her successor a slight seniority advantage.
A special election would later be held to choose a successor to finish the rest of Klobuchar’s term.
Immigration and fraud will be at issue
The Minnesota contest is likely to test Trump and his fellow Republicans鈥� uncompromising law-and-order approach and mass deportation program against Democrats鈥� criticisms of his administration鈥檚 tactics.
Federal agents have and adults who are U.S. citizens, entered homes and engaged protesters in . Renee Good was by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in early January. On Saturday, federal officers fatally shot during an encounter.
Many Democrats on Capitol Hill, in turn, have that fund Trump鈥檚 Department of Homeland Security. A standoff over could lead to a partial government shutdown.
Trump and other Republicans also will try to saddle Klobuchar 鈥� or any other Democrat 鈥� with questions about the federal investigation into Minnesota鈥檚 and its Somali community. Trump also has made repeated assertions of widespread fraud in state government, and his administration is conducting multiple investigations of state officials, including Walz. The Democrat has maintained that his administration has investigated, reduced and prosecuted fraud.
Demuth was quick to and a web page that illustrate what鈥檚 likely to be another main line of her campaign: that Klobuchar cannot be trusted to end the fraud in public programs or curb the growth of government.
鈥淢innesotans only need to look at her record to know that she simply cannot deliver the change that our state needs, and would be nothing more than a third term of Tim Walz,鈥� Demuth said in a statement.
Klobuchar has won across Minnesota
Now in her fourth Senate term, Klobuchar is a former local prosecutor and onetime presidential candidate who positions herself as a moderate and has demonstrated the ability to win across Minnesota.
She won her 2024 reelection bid by nearly 16 percentage points and received 135,000 more votes than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Harris outpaced Trump by fewer than 5 percentage points.
Klobuchar gained attention during Trump鈥檚 first term for her questioning of his judicial nominees, including now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. At Kavanaugh鈥檚 , she asked the future justice, who had been accused of sexual assault as a teenager, if he ever had so much to drink that he didn鈥檛 remember what happened. Kavanaugh retorted, 鈥淗ave you?鈥�
The senator, who had talked publicly of her father鈥檚 alcoholism, continued her questioning. Kavanaugh, who was confirmed by a single vote, later apologized to Klobuchar.
After Trump鈥檚 first presidency, Klobuchar was among the most outspoken lawmakers during bipartisan congressional inquiries of the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when during certification of Democrat Joe Biden鈥檚 victory in the 2020 election. As Senate Rules Committee chair, she pressed Capitol Police, administration officials and others for details of what authorities knew beforehand and how rioters breached the Capitol.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our duty to have immediate responses to what happened,鈥� she said after focused not on Trump鈥檚 role but on better security protocols for the seat of Congress.
2020 presidential bid
Klobuchar sought the presidential nomination in 2020, running as a moderate in the same political lane as Biden. She launched her campaign to promote her 鈥済rit鈥� and Midwestern sensibilities that have anchored her political identity.
As a candidate, Klobuchar faced stories of disgruntled Senate staffers who described her as a difficult boss but also distinguished herself on crowded debate stages as a determined pragmatist. She outlasted several better-funded candidates and ran ahead of Biden in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. But Biden, then a former vice president, trounced her and others in the South Carolina primaries, prompting her to in closing ranks behind him.
After Biden鈥檚 victory, Klobuchar would have been well-positioned for a Cabinet post, perhaps even attorney general. But the Senate鈥檚 50-50 split made it untenable for Biden to create any opening for Republicans to regain control of the chamber.
Klobuchar announced in 2021 that she had been and in 2024 announced that she was but undergoing another round of radiation.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporter Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed.
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