Former US VP candidate Tim Walz withdraws from Minnesota governor’s race, citing fraud allegations and partisan fights that hampered his campaign.
WASHINGTON: Former US vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has ended his bid for a third term as Minnesota governor.
The Democrat, who was Kamala Harris’s 2024 running mate, announced his withdrawal just months after launching his reelection campaign.
Walz cited the political storm over fraud allegations in state aid programs as making effective governance and campaigning impossible.
“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota,” he said in a statement.
The governor has faced intense Republican attacks linked to probes into pandemic aid misuse, including a federal case involving nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
As of late December, 92 people were charged in that scandal, with 62 convictions secured.
Many defendants in the ongoing cases are of Somali descent, a detail seized upon by President Donald Trump.
Trump accused Walz of being “corrupt” and alleged he stole billions in public funds in a Truth Social post on Monday.
State officials say many claims have been exaggerated, but the controversy has damaged Walz’s approval ratings.
The scandal has rattled Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in a state that last elected a Republican statewide in 2006.
Walz’s vulnerabilities had drawn a growing field of potential GOP challengers and prompted quiet calls among Democrats for a reset.
His exit now clears the way for a crowded Democratic primary contest.
US Senator Amy Klobuchar is widely viewed as a possible contender, alongside state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Secretary of State Steve Simon.
None of those potential candidates has formally declared their intention to run.
For Walz, a former teacher and National Guard veteran, the decision ends a rapid rise from state politics to the national stage.
It leaves Minnesota Democrats to chart their next chapter without one of their most prominent figures.
