MN Gov. Tim Walz Announces 2026 Reelection Bid, Sets Up Historic Race

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday he will seek a third term in 2026, a move that would put him on track to become the state’s longest-serving governor in the modern era.

Walz, first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, announced his campaign in a video posted on YouTube. He said he’s running because his work isn’t finished.

"I’ve seen how we help each other through the hard times," Walz said. "And boy, we’ve seen terrible times this year. I’m heartbroken and angry about the beautiful people we lost to gun violence. But it’s in these moments, we have to come together. We can’t lose hope. Because I’ve seen what we can do when we work together."

No Minnesota governor has won three consecutive terms since the state switched to four-year terms in 1963.

And while Democrats have dominated statewide elections in recent years, the state has grown more competitive. GOP candidates came close in 2022, and the Minnesota House is tied between Democrats and Republicans this session.

On the Republican side, the field is already taking shape. Kendall Qualls, a former business executive and Army veteran, announced his run in May.

He’s hoping to become Minnesota’s first Black governor.

Scott Jensen, a physician and former state senator who was the GOP’s 2022 nominee, is also back in the race. And Kristin Robbins, a state representative from Maple Grove who chairs a House committee on government fraud, entered the contest in August.

The Minnesota DFL Party praised Walz’s record in a statement Tuesday, pointing to policies like paid family and medical leave, universal school meals, and what party leaders called "a nation-leading child tax credit."

Party chair Richard Carlbom said Walz "is focused on making your life more safe, secure, and affordable" and argued Minnesotans "will reelect Tim Walz as he continues to shelter us from the economic storm brewing under Donald Trump."

Republican leaders have yet to issue a formal response to Walz’s announcement.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.