Minnesota Gov Says ‘I Will Never Run for an Elected Office Again’ [WATCH]

Good news for the people of Minnesota.

Less than two years after he was tapped as the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he will never again seek elected office — an abrupt capstone to a career that carried him from Congress to the national ticket and into a bruising endgame at home.

“I have no political consideration, I will never run for an elected office again,” Walz said. “Never again.”

Asked to clarify, he added that while he would continue public service of a different sort, he would not return to the campaign trail.

“There are heroes on the streets that we don’t know their names… those grass-tops leaders… brought this administration to its knees this week to do something about it. So there’s other ways to serve, and I’ll find ’em.”

TIM WALZ: “I have no political considerations. I will never run for an elected office again. Never again.”

He knows he’d never win.

His career is over.
pic.twitter.com/y95N1o81P3

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 29, 2026

Walz rose to national attention in 2024 when Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate in the election Trump won. Before that, Walz served six terms in the U.S. House and was elected Minnesota’s 41st governor in 2018, winning re-election in 2022.

Walz had launched a bid for a third term in 2026 — an uphill feat in Minnesota, where modern political history has made third-term wins rare.

At the time, he touted his record and urged unity, saying, “I’ve always tried to do what’s right for Minnesota, and I’ll never stop fighting to protect us from the chaos, corruption, and cruelty coming out of Washington.”

But the re-election effort was overtaken by a high-profile Minnesota fraud scandal that drew national scrutiny—one Walz said he needed to address full-time rather than campaign.

“Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest 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,” Walz said when he suspended his bid earlier this month.

The political turmoil has been compounded by federal-state tensions over immigration enforcement—especially after “Operation Metro Surge” and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during recent confrontations involving federal agents, which intensified protests and pressure on state leaders.

With Walz now swearing off future campaigns, the governor’s race has immediately shifted: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced she is running to succeed him.