Fast Read
Minnesota will have its first woman as governor. This historic election follows a campaign full of twists and turns.
After a career that broke Minnesota’s political barriers, Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar broke another one Tuesday night, becoming the state’s first woman elected governor. With nearly 80 percent of precincts reporting, Klobuchar held 55 percent of the vote.
Klobuchar, a former Hennepin County prosecutor, entered the gubernatorial race late after Gov. Tim Walz announced he would not seek re-election. She campaigned on a message of ending fraud in state government and making the state work better for its citizens.
Her political experience in Washington and campaigning in each of Minnesota’s 87 counties helped her gain the support she needed to overcome a challenge from Republican Lisa Demuth, speaker of the Minnesota House.
“I stand before you today as the granddaughter of an iron ore miner who never graduated from high school, the daughter of a teacher and a journalist, and as the first woman elected to the United States Senate in this state, and tonight because of you, the first woman elected governor of the state of Minnesota,” Klobuchar told supporters Tuesday evening.
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Democratic candidates, supporters and volunteers filled a ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel in St. Paul and spilled into an adjoining space. They cheered and held Klobuchar signs, sometimes shouting “Amy.”
“Work my heart”
Klobuchar said the series of events that led to her run for governor was complicated, but she felt in a good place at the moment.
“You know I loved my job in the Senate, but I love my state more,” Klobuchar said. “As your next governor, I will work with all my heart. I promise you that. And I will be a transformative governor. In Minnesota, trust is not given; it is earned. It comes with expectations. And those are results. We will produce results. Results you can see and feel in your life.”
She said she would work across the political aisle in St. Paul, even if it meant ruffling the feathers of her party or Republicans.
“I’m going to need people on my side, from both parties. And spoiler alert: You may not like everything I do,” she told Democrats at a watch party in St. Paul.
Klobuchar noted that it would have been Harper Moyski’s birthday on Tuesday. She was one of two children killed in a fatal shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School last year.
The governor-elect has pledged to pass a set of new gun restrictions. And Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said this would be a top priority.
“I want to move us forward.”
With Republicans’ top-down focus on fraud, Klobuchar addressed the problem early, alongside former Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger as she laid out her plan to address it.
Public polling suggests more voters trust Klobuchar, 66, to fight fraud than Demuth, despite the fraud that plagued the department during the Walz administration.
Throughout her campaign, Klobuchar said she would propose a leadership change for Walz. She laid out detailed plans on housing, health care, public safety and other priorities while citing bipartisan legislation proposed in Minnesota, enacted in other states or adopted by local Minnesota communities.
“I’m not interested in moving Minnesota to the left or the right,” she said in what became a refrain. “I want to move us forward.”
Demuth, R-Cold Spring, entered the race last year as part of a large field of Republicans vying to unseat Walz, who was pursuing an unprecedented third straight four-year term.
Demuth touted his work in a divided House. She said voters need to send Republicans to St. Paul to root out fraud in state government programs. The former school board member and businesswoman also pledged to cut the state budget, which she said has exploded under DFL control in 2023 and 2024 without sufficient return on investment.
Quick trip
As reports of fraud in Minnesota intensified late last year, the Trump administration withheld funds from the state. The administration ultimately deployed thousands of immigration agents to Minnesota in the name of combating fraud. Two American citizens were killed by federal agents and hundreds more were arrested.
Then came another twist: Walz withdrew his re-election bid, citing his desire to spend his final months in office fighting fraud. The move shook up the race and created an opening for Klobuchar, Minnesota’s senior U.S. senator, to intervene.
Klobuchar vowed to fight fraud by launching an audit of state government and using her experience as a former Hennepin County attorney to pursue those who misuse taxpayer dollars. She also highlighted her experience working across the aisle in Washington. She said St. Paul would benefit from a governor willing to put partisanship aside.
While Klobuchar easily won DFL support in May, Demuth lost at the Republican Party convention to businessman Kendall Qualls. After a scuffle with voting machines at the Duluth convention, party leaders gave candidates the green light to run in a primary, even though they pledged to respect their support.
That laid the groundwork for a three-way primary between Qualls, Demuth and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who was President Donald Trump’s choice. Demuth won and advanced to the head-to-head matchup with Klobuchar.
Both Demuth and Klobuchar have broken barriers during their political careers. Klobuchar was the first woman elected Hennepin County prosecutor and the first woman chosen by Minnesota voters to represent them in the U.S. Senate.
Demuth was the first woman and first Black Minnesotan to serve as House Republican Caucus Leader and Speaker of the House.
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