After several months of speculation, and perhaps even a 180-degree flip, Governor Tim Walz will indeed run for a third consecutive term in office.
"I’m running for reelection to continue serving as Governor of Minnesota," Walz said on social media Tuesday morning. "We’ve made historic progress in our state, but we’re not done yet. I’m staying in the fight — and I need you with me."
Overnight, the Governor's website was refreshed, and gone was the “One Minnesota” message. Last week when asked if he was going to run, Walz responded, "I think that's a safe assumption," making it clear he was preparing to make a formal announcement soon.
"I want to make Minnesota a place where everyone has a chance to succeed in every corner of the state," Walz said in his video announcement. "Now I'm hitting the road, to listen to you and talk about our future. I'll see you out there."
Originally, the governor was expected to make an announcement about the 2026 election earlier in the summer. But the political assassination of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, not just a colleague but a close friend of Walz, not only delayed his plans but according to those close to the governor forced him to reconsider his options.
"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," Walz said in his new video. "We can't lose hope because I've seen what we can do when we work together."
But the mass shooting at Annunciation Church seemed to signal a flip for Walz. He began talking about a special session to address gun laws and talk about doing "more work" for Minnesota.
"We have got to do something to make our streets safer, our schools safer, and do some common sense things," said Walz on last week. "And so I think that's a big driving piece."
At the Minnesota State Fair, often times a place where big political announcements are made, Walz was coy, telling the Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar that he had more work to do first.
"I think, you know, before everybody's dancing on my grave, I'm doing this job for 18 more months," Walz told WCCO. "So I will be doing this job for the next year and a half."
WCCO political analyst Blois Olson says there's no word yet who his running mate will be with current Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan making a run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Tina Smith.
"That'll be another news cycle for another day," says Olson. "But, last night, he released a video on his official account that was really about kind of the last few months and the calm that we need to find in this chaos. And, you know, when he was with you at the (State Fair) booth, I noticed that he had at least one, if not two film crews with him. And that was an indication to me that they were taking the steps to do that."
There is already a crowded field on the GOP side. Walz's 2022 opponent, Dr. Scott Jensen, is running again. Another 2022 candidate on the Republican side, Kendall Qualls, is running. And so it State Sen. Kristin Robbins of Maple Grove.
"I think it's time to heal for Minnesota and I think Tim Walz entering the race provides some clarity over the next 13 month," Dr. Scott Jensen said on WCCO Tuesday morning after the governor's announcement.
Robbins also released a new campaign video Tuesday calling Walz a "disaster and an embarrassment," going after him for increased taxes, spending the state surplus, and an "epidemic" of fraud.
Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket after his attack line 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 been a sharp critic of Trump as he’s toured early caucus and primary states. In May, he called on Democrats 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 after a Minnesota speech in May when he compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents under Trump to the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. Congressional Republicans called him out 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 interview with Axios in July, he said he would not make a White House bid if he sought reelection.
He proudly touted the accomplishments of the 2023 legislative session, when Democrats used their full control to enact a sweeping platform 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 the unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, a $250 million pandemic food aid fraud case and his military record with the Minnesota National Guard. Critics said he exaggerated his rank and faulted him for leaving the military to run for Congress before his unit deployed to Iraq.
It's been a while since a Republican won a statewide race in Minnesota. The last time was Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who was reelected to a second term in 2006.
Only two times a governor that served two terms ran for a third, and both of those came after being out of office between terms.
In 1978, Democrat Rudy Perpich lost to Republican challenger Al Quie after serving one term. He then ran again in 1982, winning the office for a second time, and then won again in 1986 becoming the state's only three-time governor.
Pawlenty served two consecutive terms after being elected in 2002 and 2006. He was succeeded by Democrat Mark Dayton. Pawlenty did not seek a third term in 2010. But, he did come back and run again in 2018 seeking his third term, but lost in the primary when Jeff Johnson won the GOP nomination, and eventually lost to Walz.