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Tim Walz has dropped his bid for re-election as Minnesota governor amid mounting pressure over allegations of sprawling state welfare fraud, after rising to national prominence as Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024.
The former Democratic Congress member said in a surprise announcement on Monday that he would abandon his effort to seek a third term as governor following national scrutiny of the alleged scandal in Minnesota’s safety-net programmes.
Walz said in a social media post: “I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests 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.”
“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”
It remains unclear which Democrat will run in Walz’s place. But Walz’s decision to step aside prompted speculation on Monday that Amy Klobuchar, the state’s senior Democratic senator who ran for president in 2020, would run to succeed him. A spokesperson for Klobuchar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than a dozen Republican hopefuls have entered the race, including Mike Lindell, chief executive of My Pillow and a prominent supporter of US President Donald Trump. Lindell has pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election result.
At a rally in North Carolina just before Christmas, Trump said Lindell “deserves to be governor of Minnesota”.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating fraud in Minnesota’s state welfare programmes since at least 2021. A federal jury last year convicted the leader of one non-profit group in what prosecutors described as one of the biggest cases of fraud relating to aid during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But probes into alleged fraud in the Midwestern state have garnered more attention in recent weeks, with federal prosecutors claiming scams, many involving Somali migrants, have occurred at a wider scale than thought.
“The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated,” said Joseph Thompson, assistant US attorney, last month. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s a staggering, industrial-scale fraud. It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.”
A video from rightwing influencer Nick Shirley alleging fraud at Somali-run childcare facilities went viral last month, prompting the Trump administration to announce it would freeze all federal support for childcare.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Walz and threatened to withhold more federal funds from Minnesota amid the scandal. “Governor Walz has destroyed the State of Minnesota,” the president posted on Truth Social on Monday, claiming Walz “will possibly leave office before his Term is up”.
“I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS,’” Trump added.
