Gov. Tim Walz announced in a statement on X he was dropping out of the Minnesota governor’s race today to focus on the state, no longer running for a third term.

“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,” Walz said. 

Walz said in a press conference on Monday that he does not want to run for a third term because he didn’t want to take away from governing Minnesota. Walz claimed Minnesota state republicans are turning the recent fraud situation into a political game. 

This comes after right-wing YouTuber Nick Shirley accused nine daycares of fraud in a video posted on X and YouTube after Christmas Day. 

After the video, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families received national scrutiny. 

U.S Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said HHS would cut federal funding unless there was evidence federal funds were being used correctly, according to a post on X from Tuesday. 

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families said in a statement they investigated the nine daycare centers and found them “operating as expected,” except for one that didn’t have children when the inspectors came over. 

Minnesota has been dealing with fraud cases since 2021 and into this year. Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock was found guilty of fraud in March, reported CBS News. A court demanded Tuesday that she forfeit more than $5 million.  

Republican Minnesota lawmakers have called for Walz’s resignation,  claiming his administration has failed to handle fraud scandals. 

Rep. Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) said the Walz administration downplayed the fraud issues in a press conference last Monday. 

Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) said in a public statement she’s proud of the work Walz has done. 

“I appreciate that Governor Walz recognizes the political moment we’re facing,” Murphy said in the press release. “The threats posed by the Trump administration were already dire, and now that he has weaponized his entire government against our state, they are existential.”

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a statement she is focusing on running for the U.S. Senate race.

The Minnesota governor’s race is this November. Currently, there are 13 officials running for governor, including Demuth (R-Cold Spring) and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. 

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported U.S Sen. Amy Klobuchar is considering running for Governor.