State Auditor Julie Blaha won’t seek re-election next year

State Auditor Julie Blaha announced Thursday that she won’t seek re-election in 2026, creating an opening for one of Minnesota’s coveted statewide offices.

Blaha, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018, said she always planned to serve a couple of terms, strengthen the office and leave it in good shape for the next auditor. “Today, I can confidently say we’ve done that,” Blaha said in a video announcement.

“It has a great team in place, is renowned for its integrity and is leading on local accountability,” she said, adding that the office is “well-positioned for a transition.”

Minnesota’s Office of the State Auditor oversees the books of roughly $60 billion in local government spending, mainly through audits of counties and cities. The auditor also serves on several state boards, including the Minnesota State Board of Investment.

Blaha, a former middle school math teacher and teachers union leader, said that when she started, the auditor’s office was “under heavy attack” by some legislators who wanted to defund or eliminate it. She said her team has strengthened relationships with local governments and legislators in the years since.

Her departure sets up an open race for an office that Democrats barely held on to in 2022. She defeated Republican Ryan Wilson by less than half a percentage point that year.

DFL state Rep. Dan Wolgamott of St. Cloud told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Thursday that he will run for state auditor next year. He said he is excited to apply his legislative experience, which included crafting the state’s higher education budget, to the statewide role.

Other Democrats who are considering running include former Duluth City Councilor Zack Filipovich and Tonka Bay Mayor Adam Jennings, according to a source familiar with their thinking.

Wilson said in a statement Thursday that he would decide on whether to run for higher office again in the coming months. He and other Republicans have argued the state auditor should take a more prominent role in tackling cases of fraud in state programs, even if they are outside the scope of local government audits.

GOP state Rep. Elliott Engen said Thursday that he is seriously considering a bid for state auditor and could make a campaign announcement in the coming weeks.

Engen, of Lino Lakes, said he expects public program fraud to be the defining issue of next year’s auditor’s race. He believes the office should be elevated to audit state-level programs, too.

“There should be someone that’s proactively, day in and day out, looking for the fraud,” he said. “The duties of the office are defined but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to just that. … We can expand the office without legislative approval, but that just takes manpower and hours.”