ST. PAUL 鈥� Former Democrat state Sen. Melisa L贸pez Franzen announced on X early Monday morning that she will be running for U.S. Senate.
"I'm running for the United States Senate to protect our Minnesota values, restore sanity and bring decency and common sense back to Washington," she said in the video announcement Monday, March 10.
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The U.S. Senate bid comes after her Feb. 21 announcement to step down as executive director of Government and Community Relations at the University of Minnesota. L贸pez Franzen formerly served in the Minnesota Senate for District 49 from 2012 to 2022, representing parts of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, as well as parts of Edina, Eden Prairie, Bloomington and Minnetonka.
"Our rights are being stripped away while unelected billionaires slash services for everyday Americans," she said in her announcement. "Everything we work so hard for is under attack. So it's time to work harder than ever before to protect the next generation."
L贸pez Franzen was elected as minority leader for the DFL in 2021, shortly before declining to run for reelection in 2022 after redistricting as Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park.
Minnesota is about 20 months out from the November 2026 election, in which it will elect a governor and U.S. senator, as well as attorney general, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state auditor.
Alongside L贸pez Franzen, other major Democrats have thrown their names in the mix for statewide races. Gov. Tim Walz's team said he is considering what could be a rare three-term governorship but is out for U.S. Senate , and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan quickly announced her Senate bid following Sen. Tina Smith's announcement that she will not seek reelection.
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