Tim Walz confirmed his political career was over following unrest in Minnesota – but insisted the fight against President Trump goes on.
Walz said he will never run for elected office again after weeks of scandal that led to his decision to end his run for a third term – but the governor praised those who are resisting ICE on the streets.
Walz said after the fallout from the daycare fraud scandal and trying to fight back Donald Trump over ICE in Minneapolis, he’s quitting politics.
‘I will never run for an elected office again. Never again,’ he emphatically told MS Now, shutting down a potential run for Senate in the future.
During an interview with MS NOW Walz pointed to the protests against ICE, saying there are ‘heroes on the streets that we don’t know their names.’
‘They’re never going to run for office, and those grass-tops leaders brought this administration to their knees this week to do something about it,’ he said.
‘So there’s other ways to serve, and I’ll find them.’
The Democrats will put up Senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, who Walz has endorsed. Minnesota’s other Senate seat is also open and will be determined in the midterm elections.
It marks a stunning downfall for Walz, who had launched his quest for a third term just this past September.
Tim Walz said he will never run for elected office again, confirming his political career is over following months of unrest in Minnesota
The failed vice presidential nominee started 2026 trying to run for a third term as governor of the reliably Democrat-leaning state
Walz was previously expected to run for a third consecutive term as Governor, despite his previous failed national campaign as Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Yet, a growing number of elected officials inside Walz’s party expressed concerns about the viability of him winning the gubernatorial election, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune reports ahead of his announcement.
Nearly a dozen Democrats who have spoken to the newspaper in recent weeks said they thought Walz should not seek re-election – with some even comparing his run for a third term to former President Joe Biden’s doomed 2024 campaign.
The governor has been mired in a deepening scandal over scams involving state welfare, including payments to daycares and COVID-era loans.
Over 90 people have been charged, with the majority of the defendants indicted so far coming from the Somali community.
Walz, who was Kamala Harris‘ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2024, also noted that he ‘came to the conclusion’ he could not give his all to a political campaign after conversations with his family.
Walz previously appeared to acknowledge some degree of fraud that existed in his state in a statement made last month.
‘This is on my watch. I am accountable for this. And more importantly, I am the one that will fix it,’ Walz said at the time.
Independent journalist Nick Shirley conducted a series of visits to Minnesota daycares and published his findings on X last month
Independent journalist Nick Shirley conducted a series of visits to Minnesota daycares that serve the Somali community, attempting to interview the operators, and published his findings on X last month.
Shirley took a victory lap during Walz’s presser, posting on X Monday that he ‘ended Tim Walz.’
Shirley alleged that a Hennepin County daycare appeared closed when he visited, even though he claims it has received about $4 million in state childcare subsidies — a charge the center disputes and which has not been independently verified.
The shocking film sparked an immediate federal response including by FBI Director Kash Patel and Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem who then announced investigations into the loans.
Prosecutors now say at least 57 people connected with the Feeding Our Future program billed the federal government $250 million, claiming to buy meals for children during the COVID pandemic.
Instead, the defendants allegedly used the stolen money to buy Lamborghinis, Porsche SUVs, beachfront property in Kenya and private villas in the Maldives. The vast majority of those convicted in the case are Somali.
Investigators then found that around $9 billion in federal Medicaid funds supporting 14 Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been stolen, US Attorney Joe Thompson announced on December 18.
Eighty-two of the 92 defendants in the child nutrition, housing services and autism program scams are Somali, prosecutors say.
It was later revealed that Walz had connections with at least some of the refugees charged in the fraudulent scheme.
Walz has also feuded with Trump until recently over ICE’s presence in Minneapolis, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Walz has also feuded with Trump until recently over ICE’s presence in Minneapolis, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Pictured: Moments before Pretti (on the ground) was fatally shot in the Minnesota city on Saturday
Walz had asked ICE to leave Minnesota after the killing of Good
However, relations between the two have seemingly cooled this week, with a phone call leading to Border Czar Tom Homan’s presence in the city over Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino.
Walz praised protesters who had confronted members of ICE and Border Patrol in recent weeks during the interview.
‘They’re never going to run for office, and those grass-tops leaders brought this administration to their knees this week to do something about it. So there’s other ways to serve, and I’ll find them,’ he said.
Klobuchar’s entry into the Minnesota gubernatorial race is formidable for both Democrats and Republicans alike.
Now in her fourth term as senator, Klobuchar won her last election in 2024 with over 56 percent of the vote despite President Donald Trump driving GOP turnout that year.
She also won her 2018 election with over 60 percent of the vote, and another statewide run in 2012 by over 65 percent.
