Amy Klobuchar often reminded Iowa caucusgoers during her presidential stump speeches in 2020 she was the highest vote-getter in Minnesota’s history, evidence of her appeal in the American heartland. That pitch didn’t earn her any primary victories — but it’s now a rallying point for Minnesota Democrats who hope she’ll run for governor.
Klobuchar’s long track record of blowout wins in Minnesota — she outperformed Kamala Harris in Minnesota by more than 130,000 votes in 2024 and the closest of her four Senate wins was a 16-point victory in 2018 — has Democrats hoping she can once again help keep control of their blue-leaning state even as the state has seen other tight races in recent years.
The senator has been the one constant in Minnesota politics since she first won her Senate seat in 2006, carrying on through three governors, two senators and significant turnover in the congressional delegation. And she’s been a stabilizing force as Minnesota Democrats weathered a decade of chaos, from Sen. Al Franken’s resignation in 2017 to George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis and the ensuing protests in 2020. Now, there’s the ongoing federal probe into a fraud scandal that threatened to engulf Gov. Tim Walz’s reelection bid and played a role in his Monday decision to drop out.
“She has the ability to come in and save our state,” said Bill Harper, a Minnesota Democratic strategist. “Now, people are going to be excited about the top of the ticket.”
A person close to Klobuchar, granted anonymity to describe private conversations, said Monday she’s seriously considering a run but she hadn’t decided yet, though she is receiving encouragement from Minnesota Democrats to do so. It’s also not clear how a bid for governor in 2026 might affect her decision to run again for the presidential nomination in a wide-open primary in 2028.
If she goes for governor, it’ll be a new — and tougher — test of Klobuchar’s resilience in a state that’s trended redder in recent years. In the state Legislature, Democrats hold the state Senate by a one-seat margin and the state House is split evenly, the narrowest legislative margin in the country. President Donald Trump cut Democrats’ advantage in the state by 3 percentage points in 2024.
The sharp political polarization has impacted Klobuchar’s numbers as well: Her 16-point win in 2024 was the narrowest of her four bids, down from a 35-point romp in 2012. A September KSTP poll from SurveyUSA found her approval rating at 50 percent with 33 percent of voters disapproving. That was better than Walz, who sat at 47 percent approval with 47 percent disapproving, but down from her once-astronomic numbers in the state.
The race could also force another litigation of Klobuchar’s long-running staff turnover problems and her failed presidential campaign, which were also a focus of her opponents in her 2024 Senate reelection race just months after she dropped her bid.
On Monday, after Walz decided to withdraw, Minnesota state Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a rural district in the state, said a Klobuchar bid would be a “best-case scenario.”
“Walz can focus on dealing with the fraud and take the politics out of it, but we also got the news that Klobuchar could be running, which would be the best for legislative candidates running in tough districts,” Hauschild said. “Klobuchar joining the ticket would mean we’d be looking at an opportunity to grow our majorities and go on offense in greater Minnesota.”
In recent weeks, Trump relentlessly tied Walz, who he called a “corrupt governor,” to the welfare fraud scandal, which has seen dozens of people charged with felonies for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a Covid-era government program intended to help feed children. Walz has not been accused of any specific wrongdoing, but he’s acknowledged fraud is a pervasive problem and announced oversight measures in recent weeks. Even so, Minnesota Democrats had been anxiously eyeing the governor’s race, concerned for how the scandal might consume it.
A Minnesota Democratic operative, granted anonymity to describe the issue candidly, said Walz’s departure amounted to “a big sigh of relief” for state legislators and candidates, who were concerned about Walz's position among independent voters in light of the fraud scandal.
Walz, for his part, acknowledged Monday that the fraud scandal affected his decision, saying in a statement that “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.”
A person close to Walz, granted anonymity to describe private conversations, said the governor would’ve ground out a victory in 2026, but he didn’t have his heart in the campaign. The murder of Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota House speaker who was shot at her home in July, weighed heavily on Walz, the person said.
It’s unclear whether Walz, who served as the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2024, will try to stay in public office.
If Klobuchar runs, she would be the eighth senator to decide to retire or run for other office this year during a time of intense partisan polarization and gridlock that has persuaded some other senators to head for the exits. Klobuchar, who has served as the Senate Democrats’ third-most powerful party leader, would also leave seniority on the table in Washington, should she walk away.
But some in Minnesota wouldn’t be surprised, should she make that decision.
“The federal government is broken,” said Minnesota House Majority Leader Zack Stephenson, “and state government can still work.”
If Klobuchar wins the seat, it would mean the state would have a new governor and two new senators in one fell swoop — a wholesale makeover of Democratic leaders in Minnesota for the first time in nearly a decade. Earlier this year, Sen. Tina Smith’s decision to retire, after serving since 2018, touched off a contentious Democratic primary to replace her, featuring Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). Democrats hope Klobuchar’s coattails could help in that race as well.
“It’s a unique moment for Minnesota,” Stephenson said. “There’s a great bench of talent here, and nationally and here in Minnesota, there’s talk of a new generation of leadership.”
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