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Klobuchar’s Minnesota Succession Mess

Two days before the killing of Renee Good, news leaked that Senator Klobuchar was weighing a bid to succeed Tim Walz as governor of Minnesota. But while the chatter about Klobuchar has receded from the headlines, Democrats are quietly discussing the political impact of a second open Senate seat in 2026.

Amy Klobuchar
Either Klobuchar had been holding her cards extremely close to the vest, or, more likely, the whole idea spontaneously took flight amid Walz’s downfall. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Abby Livingston
January 19, 2026

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It has been a horrible year for Minnesota Democrats. In the last seven months, they’ve grappled with the assassination of a former state House speaker, a ballooning statewide fraud scandal, and now President Trump’s escalating pseudo-military occupation of Minneapolis. “God, what a mess,” said a Democratic consultant who’s worked in Minnesota. “I don’t even know what to say. What a mess.”