Tim Walz abandons re-election bid amid fraud scandal he allowed to develop in Minnesota

Tim Walz, the scandal-plagued governor who in 2024 was picked by Kamala Harris to be No. 2 on a Democrat presidential ticket that failed catastrophically, now has decided his career leading Minnesota is over.

He’s announced that he won’t seek re-election – just as a massive fraud scandal engulfs him and his state.

Potential losses are estimated to run into the billions of taxpayer dollars as multiple federal agencies investigate what appears to be massive conniving in the state’s Somali community.

It appears that members set up daycares, took hundreds of millions of dollars, and provided no services. They allegedly created programs to provide meals to their own community’s needy and instead of handing out food, bought luxury cars and mansions.

Further, hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly were sent by Somali immigrants back to family members in Somalia, and many of those dollars ended up in the hands of Muslim terrorists in Al-Shabaab.

Walz admitted the crime was his reason for walking out.

“For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity. And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters, we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.” Walz’s statement Monday said.

CBS pointed out Walz had announced he was seeking a third term, in a statement in September.

That’s now changed.

“I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. 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,” he said. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”

He earlier claimed that he would be the one to solve the problem of the fraud and crime, even though they developed on his watch.

One prosecutor already has alleged that Medicaid fraud allowed under Walz has cost $9 billion to far.

Walz repeatedly has pushed extremist agenda points for leftists, including a law for universal free school meals, legalizing pot for fun, paid family and medical leave, and he earned the moniker “Tampon Tim” for insisting that boys’ restrooms in schools carry feminine hygiene products – one plank in the agenda for transgenderism.

Walz made the announcement in a statement ahead of a scheduled press conference Monday.

Minnesota has to come first – always.

Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota the best place to live and raise kids.

I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work. pic.twitter.com/AYbvcOzyPI

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 5, 2026

Tim Walz abruptly drops out of Minnesota governor’s race in wake of alleged billion-dollar fraud scandal https://t.co/LnicWao6BL pic.twitter.com/nV33enTiHM

— New York Post (@nypost) January 5, 2026

Walz’ status as a politician amid his scandals has drawn massive online trolling:

BREAKING: We are LIVE outside Tim Walz’s residence anxiously awaiting the smoke to RISE from the Governor Mansion’s chimney, signaling that a NEW RETARD has been selected

This comes amid reports Tim Walz will be DROPPING his 2026 re-election campaign today, due to his… pic.twitter.com/iZxQTbLtNW

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 5, 2026

A report from NBC said the most recent catastrophe for Walz was just weeks ago when “right-wing influencer Nick Shirley went viral [with a video], alleging fraud at child care facilities in Minnesota. After the video went viral, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would freeze all federal child care payments to the state. Days later, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families said that investigators found the child care facilities in question ‘were operating as expected.’
Dozens of suspects were indicted in 2022, during the Biden administration, as part of an alleged $250 million fraud scheme with the nonprofit Feeding Our Future.”

Even the state’s own audit procedures, the report said, found “failures by the state’s Education Department led to the misuse of the COVID-era program. Some of the criminal cases related to the alleged scheme are ongoing, and several of the defendants are of Somali descent, which President Donald Trump latched onto in verbal attacks on Minnesota’s Somali community.”