Klobuchar Wins Minnesota Governor Primary

Sen. Amy Klobuchar won the Minnesota governor primary on Tuesday, clearing a key hurdle as she seeks to take over from outgoing Gov. Tim Walz. The Minnesota governor primary victory puts the state’s senior senator and former presidential candidate on course for a November showdown with the Republican nominee.

Klobuchar defeated a group of long-shot challengers in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party race. She enters the general election with two major assets: broad name recognition and a long record in public office. Klobuchar has represented Minnesota in the Senate since 2007 and previously served as Hennepin County attorney. She also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 before ending that bid and backing former President Joe Biden.

The race is unfolding against the backdrop of a major fraud scandal tied to Minnesota government programs. Walz said earlier this year that he would not seek another term as governor after his administration came under heavy criticism over how it handled fraud that federal prosecutors say could cost taxpayers more than $9 billion. Republicans have used the issue to attack Walz and state Democrats, accusing them of failing to stop misuse of public money. The scandal has become one of the defining issues in Minnesota politics and a central theme in the campaign to replace Walz.

Klobuchar has tried to make that issue part of her own pitch to voters. When she laid out her priorities in May, she said, “You are right to be angry about the fraud. It is unacceptable and it must end.” She promised a “top-to-bottom audit” of state government starting on “day one.” Her campaign also has a plank titled “Make Government Accountable and Root out Fraud,” saying that fixing government is “the foundation of everything we need to do” and calling for “immediate action to root out fraud.”