Walz to run for Minnesota governor

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz said Monday he will run for governor rather than seek re-election next year, creating an open seat in the Democratic congressman’s Republican-leaning district.

Walz defeated Republican Jim Hagedorn by less than a percentage point in November in southern Minnesota’s 1st District, where Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by 15 points. 

Walz — the top Democrat on the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee — first won election in 2006, defeating GOP incumbent Gil Gutknecht.

 

Hagedorn said Monday that the now-open U.S. House seat increases his determination after his better-than-expected showing against Walz in November, which followed defeats in 2010 and 2014.

Hagedorn, whose father represented some of the area in Congress from 1975 to 1983, has spent much of his career in federal positions in Washington.

He noted the National Republican Congressional Committee last month included Walz and Nolan on its initial list of 36 targets for 2018.

 

Other Democrats running for governor are St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, state Rep. Erin Murphy and State Auditor Rebecca Otto. Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan has expressed interest.

No major Republicans have formally entered the race, but state House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek have said they are considering it.