Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced this week that his career as a political candidate has officially come to an end, Fox News reports.

“I will never run for an elected office again. Never again,” said Walz, the Democrat Party’s 2024 vice-presidential nominee, during an interview with MS NOW.

The declaration ends years of speculation about Walz’s future in politics. Earlier in January, he suspended his campaign for a third term as governor after facing mounting criticism—from both Republicans and members of his own party—over a wide-ranging fraud scandal that has tarnished Minnesota’s image for honest governance.

At that point, Walz had left open the possibility of future campaigns. Now, he’s made his decision definitive.

Walz launched his 2026 re-election campaign last fall, but within months he was mired in a growing controversy surrounding an enormous case of fraud within state-managed aid programs. Since 2022, federal prosecutors have charged more than 90 individuals—many connected to Minnesota’s Somali community—with defrauding state and federal assistance programs, including food, housing, daycare, and Medicaid funds.

Investigators estimate the stolen sums could exceed $1 billion, with some projections climbing as high as $9 billion. Officials say millions were diverted toward luxury purchases, real estate investments, and overseas transfers—some possibly linked to extremist groups.

“This is on my watch, I am accountable for this and, more importantly, I am the one that will fix it," Walz told reporters in December, according to Fox News.

Walz’s exit from electoral politics comes as Minnesota once again finds itself at the center of a national debate—this time over the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants. Protests erupted in Minneapolis after two American citizens were killed by federal agents involved in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

Speaking about those demonstrations, Walz commended the protesters as “heroes on the streets” whose names we may never know. He told reporters that service doesn’t always mean holding office, stating, “those grass-tops leaders brought this administration to their knees this week to do something about it. So there’s other ways to serve, and I’ll find them.”

Walz’s national profile surged in 2024 when Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate after she replaced President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. Walz took on the traditional role of attack dog during the campaign, but the Harris–Walz ticket lost to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, falling short across all seven swing states.

Following that defeat, some party operatives saw Walz as a potential presidential candidate for 2028. Even then, he dismissed the idea, saying he had no interest in pursuing higher office.

Now, as investigations into fraud within his administration continue, Walz says he’s ready to serve the public in a different way. His decision brings to a close an almost 20-year career in elected office—a political journey that began decades ago in a small Nebraska classroom.

Republican rivals have seized on the issue, making it the centerpiece of their bids for the governorship. On the Democratic side, Senator Amy Klobuchar has now entered the race, giving her party a high-profile contender as they work to hold the seat.