Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced his bid for a third term as governor of Minnesota. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
Then-Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate after she replaced then-President Joe Biden atop the Democrats' national ticket last summer.
Taking aim at Trump and his running mate, now-Vice President JD Vance, Walz criticized the GOP ticket as "just weird."
But Trump ended up sweeping all seven key battleground states in last year's presidential election to win back the White House.
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This year, Walz has kept up his verbal critiques of Trump as the governor has continued to build his national profile.
But the 61-year-old governor was heavily criticized by Republicans after comparing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Nazi Germany's Gestapo. The governor was called out by congressional Republicans during a June hearing, but he refused to apologize.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting, on Aug. 25, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News)
Walz was first elected governor in 2018, winning by 11 percentage points. He won re-election in 2022 by an 8-point margin.
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But he'll be bucking history as he runs again in 2026. No Minnesota governor has won a third consecutive term since the state switched to four-year terms six decades ago.
Former business executive and Army veteran Kendall Qualls and physician and former state Sen. Scott Jenson, the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee, are among the candidates running for the Republican nomination.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/minnesota-gov-tim-walz-launches-campaign-third-term-im-staying-fight