Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork on Thursday to form a campaign committee to run for governor of her home state — weeks after Gov. Tim Walz abruptly ended his reelection bid.
The move, which comes just over a year after Klobuchar was re-elected to the US Senate for her fourth term, is a “preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run,” a source close to the Democratic Senator told Fox News Digital.
“The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days,” the source added.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar made her first move toward an expected gubernatorial bid in her home state of Minnesota. Getty ImagesBefore Klobuchar filed the paperwork with Minnesota’s Campaign Finance Board, there was buzz that the four-term senator had been encouraged to jump into the race after Walz (D) bowed out.
The pair of politicians privately met on the eve of Walz’s announcement, CNN reported. The details of their discussion aren’t clear.
Incumbent Gov. Tim Walz ended his re-election campaign after the massive fraud scandal came to light. NBCWalz, former Vice President Kamala Harris’s veep pick in the 2024 race, explained in a statement that he chose to focus on “defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” above his own political interests.
“Governor Walz made the difficult decision to focus on his job and the challenges facing our state rather than campaigning and running for reelection,” Klobuchar said in response to Walz’s abrupt withdrawal.
She later told CNN that she was seriously considering the gubernatorial run.
“I love my job, I love my state, and I’m seriously considering it,” Klobuchar told the outlet.
Klobuchar retained her Senate seat, winning re-election by nearly 16 points in 2024. REUTERSBefore joining the Senate in 2007, Klobuchar served as the County Attorney of Hennepin County. She also ran an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
She will be one of three US senators running for governor, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Michael Bennet (D-Col.)
The Minnesota Democrat has won all of her statewide elections by double digits.
Walz’s decision not to run for a third term came amid escalating tensions between ICE officials and protesters and widespread allegations of fraud in the state.
Prosecutors have charged roughly 90 individuals with swindling Minnesota taxpayers, largely in connection with bogus nonprofits getting state funding to provide services to the homeless, hungry, and daycare for children.
