Overview

• Walz announced his reelection in a video highlighting paid family leave taking effect next year, a child tax credit, tax cuts for middle-class families, and investments in public safety and schools.
• He referenced this year’s high-profile shootings, including the assassination of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and the Annunciation Catholic School attack, as he urges lawmakers to take up new gun measures.
• If successful, he would become the first Minnesota governor to win three consecutive four-year terms, a milestone possible because the state has no gubernatorial term limits.
• A crowded Republican field is forming, featuring 2022 nominee Scott Jensen, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, Kendall Qualls, Brad Kohler, Phillip Parrish, and former St. Cloud councilmember Jeff Johnson.
• Walz enters the race with national name recognition from his 2024 vice-presidential run and a fundraising edge, while facing renewed scrutiny over pandemic-era program misuse and other controversies, with the Cook Political Report rating the race likely Democratic.