It's been a big couple of days for regime change.
Tim Walz - officially in the middle of running for an unprecedented third term as governor of Minnesota, a year after running for Vice President - may be dropping out after a winter dogged with fraud and corruption scandals.
Rumors started circulating mid-last week; I first heard on Wednesday that Tim Walz was going to bow out of the 2026 Governor's race in Minnesota. I heard it from sources I consider 50-50.
Bits and pieces of the story have been percolating for three weeks - starting with a report the week before Christmas that Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-3) would not be replacing Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan on Walz's ticket for Lieutenant Governor:
New: Rep. Kelly Morrison tells me she isn't going to be Tim Walz's Lt. Gov. amid rumors she was a possible pick.
— Sydney Kashiwagi (@SydneyKashiwagi) December 16, 2025
Morrison wouldn't say if she was vetted or if she was offered the job and turned it down.
The gov's office also wouldn't confirm or denyhttps://t.co/iHKd7tOJHs
According to Minnesota political insider's insider Blois Olson, the percolating is over: Walz is going to depart the race on Monday:
🚨 BREAKING: Sources: @govtimwalz will make announcement about his political future Mon. He's likely to drop out of the 2026 #mngov race.
— Blois Olson (@bloisolson) January 5, 2026
He met w/ @SenAmyKlobuchar on Sun. Full analysis in tmrw https://t.co/4zJJytH4Aw + live on @wccoradio at 6:20AM w/ @vsawkar
Rumors had it that 2nd District DFL Congresswoman Angie Craig - currently running for Senate against Lieutenant Governor Flanagan - would get the nod to replace Walz atop the ticket.
But Republican strategist and former radio cohost with Ed and I, Michael Brodkorb, says to watch for Senator and one-time Presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar to fill Walz's shoes:
NEW: I'm hearing from multiple sources tonight that Sen. Amy Klobuchar is "very likely" to run for governor and will announce quickly. Democrats I've spoken with are thrilled about Klobuchar running, as it unifies and energizes the entire DFL ticket. pic.twitter.com/2iE2nV44EK
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) January 5, 2026
It'd be a solid move for the DFL: Klobuchar has no baggage from Walz's current corruption scandal; rumors have it the DFL wants to run on an "Anti-Corruption" platform next year; having Klobuchar, the daughter of an inexplicably legendary Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist, atop the ticket would make that a little less preposterous.
And if she loses? According to former state Representative Jeremy Munson:
Very important to note that @amyklobuchar is a very likely candidate because she is not up for re-election this year, and even if she loses the Governor's race, she remains a US Senator as if nothing happened. If she wins the Governor's race, she gets to appoint her replacement…
— Jeremy Munson (@jeremymunson) January 5, 2026
Walz dropping out of the race over corruption could be a political bonanza for the DFL - if you leave out all those federal investigations.
More, hopefullly, tomorrow.
UPDATE (Ed): Or actually, today. Tim Walz just announced his decision to withdraw and not seek any office this year:
“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,” he added.
“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.["]
Ahem. Walz didn't defend Minnesotans against the fraudsters at all. He and the DFL benefited from the fraud, at least politically, and allowed it to rage unchecked for years. If Walz had fought fraud, he would have had no trouble winning a third term in deep-blue Minnesota.
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