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Tim Walz Ends Re-Election Bid for Governor

January 13, 2026
Gita Uparkar

Minnesotan Governor Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, announced last week that he is dropping his re-election bid for Governor. This decision came after lots of personal reflection, he told the press on January 5th.

“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,” stating that he decided to “step out of the race” and to “let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” leaving a major gap for Democrats in government for the upcoming election.

He is referring to a million-dollar welfare scandal currently drawing massive controversy, although the case has been ongoing since 2022. Over the last five years, law enforcement say, hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from a Minnesotan government program, Feeding Our Future, that was meant to feed children during COVID. Prosecutors have called this the largest-ever case of pandemic aid fraud, and it has led to more investigations into alleged fraud from childcare centers and housing organizations (the stories that have been trending more recently, and highlighted by conservative influencer Nick Shirley and President Donald Trump).

Over 90 people have been charged with felonies by federal prosecutors for billing state agencies for social services through these programs that were never actually provided. 59 people have been convicted so far and prosecutors are still investigating the loss of $1 billion in taxpayer money. The fact that the vast majority of defendants are of Somali origin has fueled President Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign, and many Somali-Americans say the scandal has damaged the 80,000-strong community’s reputation. President Donald Trump labelled Walz a “crooked governor” in recent social media posts, and criticizes his handling of taxpayer dollars, calling it “criminal” and “unjust.”

Walz officials have claimed that they tried to intervene to stop fraudulent meal payments but were stonewalled by courts—however, a 2024 report from Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor has argued they failed to act on warning signs instead. The government has since taken steps to investigate the fraud, releasing a statement Friday saying Walz was shutting down the Housing Stabilization Services Program after federal investigators warned it was "extremely vulnerable to fraud.”

Republican Senators Katie Britt (AL) and Bill Cassidy (LA) criticized Walz, calling his resignation a sign that his tenure as Governor showed a lack of accountability, and stating that the money Minnesota spent in child care was fraudulent. Republican Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson stated last September that the total amount defrauded from 14 Medicaid programs in Minnesota could surpass $9 billion. Republican Minnesotan House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is running to replace Walz, stated, “If Governor Walz had been doing his job, holding commissioners accountable and preventing fraud in the first place, we wouldn’t find ourselves where we find ourselves today.”

Democrats called Walz’s decision to step aside from the election “selfless” and “civic-minded,” but they are already looking for ways to fill the gap. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D–MN), known for her 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, is seriously considering her own run for governor. She has served in her Senate position since 2007 and is widely popular within the state, beating out Kamala Harris in the 2024 Minnesotan Democratic primary by over 130,000 votes. If she chooses to run, Klobuchar would become an instant frontrunner—even one Republican admitted that she would be “a tougher candidate” to beat than Walz, a popular politician in his own right.

The most recent SurveyUSA poll places Walz at both 48% approval and disapproval, the lowest his approval rating has been in the last 20 times he has been surveyed as governor. Even beyond his tenure, this scandal raises questions about the future of Minnesota’s robust Scandinavian-style safety net programs, since no one will support these program—and the high taxes associated with them—if they are being defrauded. It is clear that systemic fraud has undermined the credibility of the current Democratic government in Minnesota and the long term stability of its welfare programs, but whether Democrats can get back on their feet is another question entirely.