ST. PAUL 鈥� Republican Scott Jensen officially announced his candidacy for governor in 2026 on Thursday, July 17.
Jensen, a family physician and former state senator, unsuccessfully ran against Gov. Tim Walz in 2022 when he took 44% of the vote. He is the second high-profile Republican to announce a bid for the governorship in 2026, alongside Republican Kendall Qualls , who also ran in 2022.
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鈥淢innesotans want their state back,鈥� Jensen said in a Thursday morning press release. 鈥淲e remember the days when our communities were safe, our schools were strong and our leaders put people 鈥� not politics 鈥� first. That鈥檚 the Minnesota we鈥檙e going to fight to bring back.鈥�
Walz has yet to decide whether he will seek a third term as governor and is expected to announce a decision around the end of summer, his staff said. Walz has ruled out other offices , such as Sen. Tina Smith鈥檚 open U.S. Senate seat.
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