On Monday, January 5th, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped out of the Minnesota governor’s race. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is considering joining the race to replace him. Walz’s decision to not seek a third term has shocked the Minnesota political world. 

Walz, who served as the Democrats 2024 vice president nominee, was facing Republican backlash as they sought to link him to a federal probe into a massive welfare fraud scandal in the state, in which dozens of people were charged for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from Covid-era government programs intended to help feed children. Although Walz was not accused of any wrongdoing, he acknowledged that the scandal played a part in his choice to drop out of the race.

“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Many Democrats, according to a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker(granted anonymity to speak candidly), didn’t want him to run. 

“He is certainly not corrupt, because he has not handled the fraud problem well and we worry about his electability,” the lawmaker continued in his statement.

Walz met with Klobuchar on Sunday to discuss the campaign, and according to a person close to Klobuchar, she is receiving encouragement to run and that she is considering it. However, she has not decided on her plans. Her possible entrance into the race could be beneficial to the Democrats as she has managed to get ahead of others in her party, including Walz, in past statewide campaigns.

Walz’s daughter Hope commented on her fathers decision to drop out of the race during a podcast interview that aired on Monday. She said that the decision had been made over the winter holidays. She also explained that she didn’t want to speak for her father, but the increasing intensity of public scrutiny on social media, especially towards her family, prompted him to reassess his campaign.

“When things started getting really intense for me on my social media and people were even saying things to Gus and stuff, I think that’s when he was really like, OK, like I needed to evaluate what’s best for my state and what’s best for my family. And then I think it was a kind of natural decision,” said Walz.

Tim Walz in a press release on Monday explained his decision as a way to benefit Minnesota. Hope also agreed with her father, and brought up that part of her father’s decision to step away was to get the “target” off  Minnesota.

“Minnesota faces an enormous challenge this year,” said Governor Walz, “And I refuse to spend even one minute of 2026 doing anything other than rising to meet the moment. Minnesota has to come first-always.”

“Trump just hates him for some reason.” Hope said. “I think it’s because he’s everything Trump will never be.”