Who is running for governor in Minnesota? Meet the candidates Amy Klobuchar, Lisa Demuth and Steven Young
Minnesotans will cast their vote for the next governor of the state, after Gov. Tim Walz announced he would not seek a third term as he originally intended.
There are three candidates listed on the ballot: DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Republican Lisa Demuth and the Green Party's Steven Young.
Klobuchar and Demuth are the two frontrunners, and it is likely that for the first time in Minnesota history, the state will have a female governor.
The candidate will replace Walz, who announced in January who withdrew from the race in January. The two-term Democrat and former vice presidential candidate faced accusations of fraud in state programs, which his office said he was working to combat.
A Republican has not been elected to statewide office since 2006.
Who are the candidates running for governor in Minnesota?
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is the DFL nominee for governor, who jumped into the campaign shortly after Walz announced his withdrawl.
A longtime elected official, Klobuchar's path in public office began when she was elected Hennepin County Attorney in 1998.
She has served in the U.S. Senate since 2006. She won her Senate races every six years by double-digit margins, though the gap has closed from 35 points in 2012 to 24 points in 2018 and 16 points in 2024. She also briefly ran for president in 2020, though suspended her campaign the day before Super Tuesday.
She said her priority is lowering costs for Minnesotans, including health care, child care, and housing.
Klobuchar tapped Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer as her lieutenant governor running mate.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth
Demuth, who is from Cold Spring, is the GOP's nominee for governor.
Demuth served on the ROCORI School Board before she was elected to the state House in 2018. Now, she is the top Republican in the divided Minnesota Legislature.
She won the Republican primary in August after losing the party's endorsement at the convention earlier this summer.
Her campaign has targeted fraud in Minnesota and says she is "working to make the state more affordable for families and businesses."
Demuth broke with President Trump in September, saying that she doesn't support the war in Iran.
"As far as how we can bring those costs down, fertilizer, gas, one of the things that I'll say, and you probably all remember this, President Trump and I are different people," she told WCCO's Esme Murphy.
Her running mate is Ryan Wilson, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in 2022.
Steven Young
Young, who is the Green Party of Minnesota's candidate for governor, is a former U.S. Marine and a corporate law attorney.
His campaign is focused on abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, banning data centers and providing green jobs.
Young's running mate is Jane Kirby, a midwife from St. Paul.
WCCO has published an election guide to help you find your polling place and meet the candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and Minnesota's eight U.S. House districts.
