MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota 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 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.”
picked Walz as her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket 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’s of as he’s toured and primary states. In May, he in South Carolina to stand up to Trump, saying, “Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner.”
The governor came under heavy GOP criticism in May when he compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents under Trump to the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. Congressional Republicans at a hearing on immigration in June, but he refused to apologize.
Walz, 61, is also frequently mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, but in an in July, he said he would not make a White House bid if he sought reelection.
Walz that he would not run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tina Smith because he was more interested in staying governor. While his gubernatorial campaign was actively raising money, he held off on making it official, hoping to first get past this year’s regular and special sessions of the Legislature.
But within days after finishing that work, his close political ally, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, was assassinated by a man posing as a police officer. Walz at her funeral. Trump Walz to offer condolences, saying it would have been a .
Walz’s run for the vice presidency introduced the with a “Midwest Dad” image to a wider, national audience. But it also brought new scrutiny of his and as a congressman before that, and his or exaggerate details and mangle his words.
He proudly touted the accomplishments of the 2023 legislative session, when Democrats used their full control to 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 that of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, a $250 million and his military record with the Minnesota National Guard. Critics said he and faulted him for before his unit deployed to Iraq.
Walz was by over 11 percentage points and by in 2022. But no Minnesota governor has won a since the state switched to four-year terms in 1963.
No Minnesota Republican has won a statewide race since Tim Pawlenty was reelected to a second term as governor in 2006. However, the has become increasingly competitive in recent years. A couple of GOP candidates came close to winning statewide races in 2022 and the state House was tied between Republicans and Democrats for the 2025 session.
On the Republican side of the governor’s race, former business executive and Army veteran announced his candidacy in May and hopes to become Minnesota’s first Black governor. Qualls also ran in 2022 but lost the GOP endorsement to 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.
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