Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has filed paperwork to run for Governor of Minnesota. Klobuchar’s likely entrance into the race follows Gov. Tim Walz ending his campaign for a third term amid the state’s fraud scandal and protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. “This is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run,” an anonymous individual close to the senator said, according to the Minnesota Reformer. “The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days,” the individual added. BREAKING: MN U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork today to create a campaign committee to run for governor in 2026. A source close to the senator tells me: “This is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run.” A formal announcement to happen soon. @KSTP pic.twitter.com/p9fCXXoKDQ — Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) January 22, 2026 Minnesota Reformer shared further: Klobuchar, 65, is a proven vote-getter, having been reelected three times since first winning her seat in 2006. In 2012, she won all but two of the state’s 87 counties — a stunning victory in a purplish state where conservative rural counties far outnumber the more populated metropolitan area ones. Her margin of victory has narrowed over time, perhaps reflecting political changes in Minnesota and nationwide. In recent weeks, Klobuchar has been an opponent of the recent federal immigration surge in Minnesota, calling for a federal investigation into the killing of Renee Good by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross and calling ICE’s arrest of children “disgraceful.” “How can anyone justify this anymore?” Klobuchar posted on X. Klobuchar is a relentless campaigner — visiting every Minnesota county every year — and focuses on broadly popular, often bipartisan legislation like funding rural broadband infrastructure, banning lead in children’s products and expanding services for victims of human trafficking. Klobuchar’s candidacy has relieved some Democratic donors and operatives anxious that the fraud scandal that tanked Walz’s reelection campaign would cost them control of state government. Klobuchar ran for president in 2020 and is widely considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate. She’s expected to easily win the primary for the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party upon entering the race. Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, said he would seek re-election instead of running for governor. Amy Klobuchar takes first step towards Minnesota governor’s race to replace embattled Walz https://t.co/yhXGImNfQt pic.twitter.com/gMYkV1BIvb — New York Post (@nypost) January 23, 2026 More from The New York Times: Should Ms. Klobuchar become governor — she would begin the race as a heavy favorite — she would end her nearly two-decade career in the Senate and forfeit her post as the chamber’s third-ranking Democrat. She does not, however, have to relinquish her Senate seat to run for governor. If she were to win and remain in the Senate until she became governor, she would be able to name her own replacement. An aide to Mr. Walz dismissed any talk of a switcheroo, saying the governor would not accept a Senate appointment. Mr. Walz’s decision to back away from politics, prompted by a widening scandal over fraud in Minnesota social services programs and relentless Republican attacks, represents a spectacular downfall for a governor who had just last year been seen as a rising influential figure in his party. The Republican field for governor includes Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House; Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s nominee for governor in 2022; and Mike Lindell, the MyPillow chief executive who spent years promoting false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Ms. Klobuchar’s apparent move is the latest example of a senator deciding that life would be better spent in a state capital than in Washington. For years, the Senate was seen as a safe political landing spot, offering term-limited governors the ability to run for office over and over again. But the dysfunction in Washington and ineffectiveness of Congress in the face of President Trump have changed that perception. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, a Democrat, and Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, both Republicans, are also running for governor in their home states. Eight other senators, including Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, have opted against seeking re-election in 2026.