Longtime Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar took her first steps Thursday toward launching a 2026 gubernatorial bid in her home state of Minnesota.
A few weeks ago, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz made a shocking announcement that he was ending his re-election bid to deal with the political fallout from a massive fraud scandal in the blue-leaning state.
Klobuchar, who was easily re-elected to a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate less than 15 months ago, filed preliminary paperwork with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Commission.
“This is a necessary preliminary step for any candidate considering running. The senator will announce her plans in the coming days,” a source close to Klobuchar told Fox News Digital.
Walz on Republican calls for him to resign over fraud scandal: ‘Over my dead body’
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign to succeed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
(Reuters)
Democratic sources confirmed that Klobuchar has been receiving calls urging her to run since Walz announced earlier this month that she would give up running for an unprecedented third term as Minnesota governor.
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Sources also confirmed that the senator met with Walz, the Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee, on the eve of his announcement to discuss his decision to abandon his re-election effort.
In the hours after Walz’s blockbuster news broke, Klobuchar had no comment on her future political plans. But she said the governor “made the difficult decision to focus on his job and the challenges facing our state rather than running for re-election.”
A day later, Klobuchar stressed to CNN, “I love my job, I love my state, and I’m seriously considering it.”
The senator has won all four Senate elections by strong margins, including re-election in 2024 by nearly 16 percentage points.
But Klobuchar, who currently ranks third in the Senate Democratic leadership, faces obstacles to moving up within the Senate Democratic leadership.
Fraud fallout forces Walz to abandon gubernatorial re-election bid
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, is not expected to leave office.
Illinois Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, the No. 2 House Democrat, is retiring from Congress, leaving a vacancy to fill in the leadership order. But Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz is the expected heir apparent.
Before serving as a senator, Klobuchar was twice elected county attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota’s most populous county.
She also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination. Last summer, Klobuchar visited New Hampshire, the first presidential primary state in the country, fueling speculation that Klobuchar may be considering another run for the White House in 2028.
Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar gives a Fox News digital interview on July 11, 2025 in Gilsum, New Hampshire.
Walz launched his re-election bid in September but has faced a barrage of political fire over the past few months from President Donald Trump and Republicans as well as some Democrats amid a massive theft during his tenure in a state that has long prided itself on good governance.
More than 90 people, mostly from Minnesota’s large Somali community, have been charged since 2022 in what has been called the largest COVID-era scheme in the nation. The funds stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, day care centers and Medicaid services are still being tallied. But the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota said the scale of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and could reach as high as $9 billion.
The rise and fall of Tim Waltz
Prosecutors said some of the dozens of people who have pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, and some of the funds were sent overseas and could fall into the hands of Islamic terrorists.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Minneapolis.
“This is my job, I’m responsible for it, and more importantly, I’m going to fix it,” Walz told reporters last month.
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But the fraud scandal was eclipsed earlier this month when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed Minnesota woman Renee Good, a mother of three, as she protested an ICE operation.
Video of the shooting went viral, sparking protests and a national debate over the agency’s efforts to enforce Trump’s push for mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants. With the massive deployment of ICE agents to Minnesota this month, the state has become ground zero in the political battle over the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.
Original source of the article: Klobuchar takes first step in Minnesota gubernatorial race in race to succeed embattled Walz
