Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Thursday officially threw her hat in the ring to run for governor of Minnesota.
“Minnesotans, we’ve been through a lot,” she wrote on the social platform X. “And I believe this moment calls for grit, resilience, and faith in each other. I believe we must stand up for what’s right. And fix what’s wrong. Today, I’m announcing my candidacy for Governor.”
Klobuchar, in a video message, referred to the June assassination of state Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (D), a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis that left two children dead and over a dozen injured, and the fatal shootings of residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officials earlier this month, as part of what the state’s residents have “been through.”
“Three thousand [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents on our streets and in our towns, sent by an administration that relishes division,” she added, referring to President Trump.
“We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is,” the Democrat continued. “But in these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom and simple decency and goodwill. These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration, but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.”
The senator added that the times call for “grit and resilience,” praising the state’s achievements from mining “the ore that won World War II” to “inventing everything from the pacemaker to the Post-It note.”
“And now,” she continued. “Our next big frontier is before us.”
The senator said she was running to help with education and affordable housing and health care before noting that that her campaign is “for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love.”
“I like my job in the Senate,” Klobuchar said in her message. “But I love our state more than any job. I love the people of Minnesota. And Minnesota, I want to be a transformative governor. Now is our moment to renew our commitment to the common good. I’m asking Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to join our campaign.”
