Gov. Tim Walz has told allies he’s running again for governor

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has told people close to him that he plans to run for a third term, after months of wavering on whether to seek another four years in the office.

Four people close to the governor’s office and campaign confirmed the Democrat is running again, and several people said an official announcement is coming next week. Walz, who continued raising money while weighing his decision, is now communicating his intentions to major donors and other prominent DFL activists, according to the people who have been briefed on his plans.

Walz said during a visit to an elementary school Wednesday it’s a “safe assumption” that he’s leaning toward running for a historic third term. Speaking from the school in Inver Grove Heights, he told reporters he would talk with his family over the weekend, but acknowledged reports that he is signaling a third run.

“It’s a privilege of a lifetime to serve as the governor of Minnesota. … I am very proud of the work we’ve done,” Walz said.

Walz also strongly implied to attendees at a fundraiser in St. Paul on Tuesday night that he intended to run, according to two sources. The governor joked that he was not going to take the money he raised and head off to Mexico, according to one attendee.

The move is a shift for Walz, who privately expressed uncertainty last month about another run, prompting a behind-the-scenes scramble among Democrats interested in the office. Walz had pushed back self-imposed deadlines to announce his plans from the early summer to after Labor Day.

The June 14 assassination of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who was his close friend and a governing partner, led to a delay in a decision on his political future, according to several people with knowledge of his thought process.

“We hope he runs because he’s made life for Minnesotans more affordable with the largest child tax credit in the country, free school meals, and $3.5 billion in the savings account to protect our balanced budget from Trump’s disastrous economic policies,” DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said in a statement.

Rep. Harry Niska, the No. 2 Republican in the Minnesota House, said “no thanks” to another Walz term on social media.

“Sounds like Gov. Walz has decided that the only one who can clean up the mess he made is … himself," Niska said.

On Wednesday, Walz acknowledged the immense tumult that has marked his years in office. First elected in 2018, Walz served as governor through the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 murder of George Floyd and resulting unrest, a historic run of progressive legislation, his run for vice president and dealing with the most closely divided Legislature in the nation.

Last month, a shooter killed two children and injured 21 children and adults at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in south Minneapolis.

“We have got to do something to make our streets safer, our schools safer and do some common sense things,” Walz said.

Walz pledged Tuesday to call a special session and urged legislative leaders to vote on a ban on assault weapons in Minnesota, saying “we cannot live like this.”

The field of Republican candidates for governor includes state Rep. Kristin Robbins of Maple Grove; Scott Jensen, Walz’s opponent in 2022; and Kendall Qualls, who also sought the GOP nomination that year.