Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Abandons Reelection Bid as Murdered Rep. Melissa Hortman’s Children Slam Trump for Fueling Conspiracy Theory

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday, Jan. 5, that he will not run for reelection and will not seek a third term.

Walz, 61, said ongoing scrutiny surrounding fraud investigations tied to Minnesota’s social services programs helped drive his decision. He has faced criticism over his administration’s inability to prevent large-scale fraud.

“I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” Walz said in a statement. “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.”

“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” he added.

Walz — the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president — also defended his administration’s response, saying “an organized group of political actors” are “seeking to take advantage of the crisis.”

Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people in multiple cases, alleging hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from a federal program designed to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, a video from right-wing influencer Nick Shirley that claimed to expose widespread fraud at Minnesota child care centers went viral. After the video spread, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it would freeze all federal child care payments to the state.

Reports of social services fraud in Minnesota have circulated for years across local and national outlets. In 2022, during the Biden administration, dozens of people were indicted in connection with allegations that they defrauded a nonprofit child nutrition program known as Feeding Our Future of more than $250 million.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said last month that half or more of the roughly $9 billion distributed through 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen due to fraud. The Trump administration has said 98 people have been charged so far. The majority of those charged are Somali Americans.

Walz’s announcement also comes amid heightened political fallout surrounding the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman. A day before Walz made his decision public, Hortman’s children urged President Donald Trump to remove a video he reposted on Truth Social that promotes a conspiracy theory alleging Walz was involved in her killing.

Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog Gilbert were fatally shot at their home in Stillwater, Minn., on June 14. About 90 minutes later, state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded at their home in Champlin.

The alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, was arrested after a statewide manhunt and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder on June 15.

Walz responded Saturday, Jan. 3, to Trump’s Truth Social post, calling it “dangerous, depraved behavior from the sitting president of the United States.”

“In covering for an actual serial killer, he is going to get more innocent people killed. America is better than this,” Walz said.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, Hortman’s children, Colin and Sophia, again pressed Trump to remove the post, saying it pushes a “false narrative.”

“The video being shared by the president is another hurdle our family must overcome in grieving the loss of my parents, Mark and Melissa, and their beloved Gilbert,” Sophie said in a statement. “I ask President Trump to please consider the pain and sadness we have faced, and to honor the spirit of the holidays we have just spent without our parents by taking down the post on Truth Social.”

Colin also asked Trump to apologize to him and his family “for posting this misinformation and for using my mother’s own words to dishonor her memory.” He also disputed a claim made in the video about a vote his mother cast shortly before her death involving the state’s health care coverage program for undocumented immigrant adults. Hortman was the only Democrat to vote for it in the House, which cleared the way for the bill’s passage.

“When I called her after the legislative session ended, I asked why she voted for the bill mentioned in the video shared by President Trump, and she wept,” Colin said. “That bill and her vote had nothing to do with fraud. She voted for that bill because it was the only way to avoid a government shutdown,” he continued, adding that the vote was “emotional and extremely difficult.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.