Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Drops Reelection Bid, Blasts Donald Trump and Allies: ‘They Want to Poison Our People’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Monday he will end his campaign for a third term as governor, using his statement to attack President Donald Trump, his administration and Republicans for politicizing claims of fraud to attack state Democrats.

“In September, I announced that I would run for a historic third term as Minnesota’s Governor. And I have every confidence that, if I gave it my all, I would succeed in that effort,” Walz said in a statement. “But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all.”

The decision on Monday represented an abrupt turn of political fortune for the 61-year-old two-term governor, who campaigned in 2024 as the Democratic vice presidential nominee but has since been dogged by scrutiny of Minnesota’s social services departments.

The statement came less than two weeks after a viral video by Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old self-described “independent“ journalist who has primarily aligned himself with conservatives, accused multiple Somali-run day care facilities of fraud. The 42-minute video claimed multiple centers took in state funds but did not house children, a claim that has come under scrutiny by a media report and a state analysis that found kids at most of the locations in Shirley’s video.

The Dec. 26 video, which came after years-old claims of misappropriated state funds for social programs, drew the attention of several conservatives, including Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, House Speaker Mike Johnson, multiple cabinet secretaries and billionaire Elon Musk.

Walz’s office initially tried to defend itself from the video’s claims, including by touting the hiring of a program integrity director to prevent fraud cases and by highlighting his previous attempts to address credible allegations of fraud in state programs. Walz, a spokesperson told Fox News last week, has “worked for years to crack down on fraud.”

But the fallout from Shirley’s Dec. 26 video led to an increased presence by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security in the state, a freeze of federal funding for child care in all states pending further data and a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday about the claims. Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have also been invited to testify before the committee next month.

Walz appeared to allude to Shirley on Monday as he blasted a group of “conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers” who’ve tried “breaking into daycare centers” to see children. He also said Trump’s attempts to attack Somali immigrants in the state, which houses the largest Somali population in the U.S., and confiscate federal funds were “disgusting” and “dangerous.”

“I won’t mince words here,” Walz continued. “Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there.”

Walz said he would use his final year in office to “combat the criminals, rebuild the public’s trust, and make our state stronger.”

“Most of all, I want Minnesotans to know that I’m on the job, 24/7, focused on making sure we stay America’s best place to live and raise kids,” Walz said. “No one will take that away from us. Not the fraudsters. And not the President. Not on my watch.”

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