Tim Walz says he’s done with politics: ‘I will never run for office again’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says his time as a political candidate is over.

"I will never run for an elected office again. Never again," Walz, the Democratic Party's 2024 vice presidential nominee, said in an interview with MS NOW.

Facing stinging criticism from President Donald Trump, other Republicans, and even some Democrats over a massive fraud scandal rocking Minnesota, Walz earlier this month announced that he was dropping his 2026 bid for an unprecedented third term as governor of the blue-leaning state.

But at the time, he didn't rule out any future runs for elected office.

Since Walz's announcement, the state has become the epicenter in the heated battle over Trump's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, following the fatal shootings by federal agents of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis who were protesting deportation operations.

FRAUD FALLOUT FORCES WALZ TO ABANDON GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION BID

Pointing to the protests against the actions by federal agents, Walz said there are "heroes on the streets that we don’t know their names."

"They’re never going to run for office, and 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," the governor added.

Walz launched his re-election bid in September, but in December started facing a barrage of incoming political fire from Trump and Republicans, and some Democrats, over the large-scale theft, under his watch as governor, in a state that has long prided itself on good governance.

More than 90 people — most from Minnesota's large Somali community — have been charged since 2022. 

KLOBUCHAR LAUNCHES BID FOR MINNESOTA GOVERNOR IN BID TO SUCCEED WALZ

How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scope of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion.

Federal prosecutors said some of the dozens that have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

"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, as he took responsibility for the scandal.

Nearly a dozen Republicans who are running to succeed Walz in the governor's office are making the fraud scandal central to their campaigns.

And on Thursday, as expected, longtime Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar launched a gubernatorial campaign, giving her party a big boost as it aims to defend the governor's office.

WALZ ON GOP CALLS FOR HIM TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘OVER MY DEAD BODY’

The 61-year-old Walz was raised in rural Nebraska and enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1981, soon after graduating from high school.

Walz returned to Nebraska to attend Chadron State College, where he graduated in 1989 with a degree in social science education.

He taught English and American History in China for one year through a program at Harvard University before being hired in 1990 as a high school teacher and football and basketball coach in Nebraska. Six years later, he moved to Mankato, Minnesota, to teach geography at Mankato West High.

Walz was deployed to Italy to support Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003 before retiring two years later from the National Guard.

INSIDE THE RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ

He was elected to the House in 2006 and re-elected five times, representing Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, a mostly rural district covering the southern part of the state that includes a number of midsize cities. During his last two years on Capitol Hill, he served as ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. 

Walz won election as governor in 2018 and re-election four years later.

But Walz was unknown to many Americans when then-Vice President Kamala Harris chose the Minnesota governor as her running mate in the summer of 2024, soon after she replaced then-President Joe Biden as the Democrats' presidential nominee.

Walz, during his three months as running mate, visually and vocally embraced the traditional role of political attack dog that has long been associated with vice presidential nominees.

But Harris and Walz fell short, losing the November 2024 election to Trump and now-Vice President JD Vance, as the Democratic Party ticket was swept in all seven crucial battleground states.

Pundits considered Walz a possible contender for the Democratic Party's 2028 presidential nomination. 

But Walz said in multiple interviews last summer that he had no interest in seeking the presidency.

And the ongoing fraud scandal and his decision to end his gubernatorial re-election put an end to Walz's recent tenure in national politics.