Sen. Amy Klobuchar officially announced her campaign in the Minnesota gubernatorial election in a video shared on her social media accounts Thursday (January 29).
Klobuchar’s announcement comes amid a national focus on Minnesota after two protesters were fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within the past month amid Operation Metro Surge, which was launched by President Donald Trump‘s administration to detain and deport undocumented immigrants within the state.
“I believe we must stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” Klobuchar said. “That’s why today, I am announcing my candidacy for governor of the state of Minnesota.”
“I like my job in the Senate,” she added. “But I love our state more than any job.”
The fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, which took place 17 days apart, have led to more protests both within the state and nationally. The ongoing ICE operation has been criticized by local Democratic leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz, who announced his decision to end his reelection campaign on January 5 amid the state facing allegations of fraud and attacks from conservatives, including Trump himself.
Walz was under fire for allegations of fraud by Minnesota child-care centers and he said the state was investigating the alleged incidents, slamming rhetoric targeting the state’s Somali community and claiming allegations targeting them could put people at risk. Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020, has been outspoken against what she called the outreach of the Trump administration and the ensuing incidents in Minnesota.
“We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is, but in these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom, and simple decency and good will,” Klobuchar said in her video message on Thursday. “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.”
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