Republicans thought a fraud scandal might finally crack open the Minnesota governor’s race. Instead, Amy Klobuchar is Minnesota’s next governor, and the Democratic senator won by double digits, becoming the first woman to hold the job. The Klobuchar governor win is also the clearest result of the night in the Upper Midwest.
According to AP wire text, Klobuchar beat Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth on Tuesday. CBS News Minnesota also reports she replaces Gov. Tim Walz, who is a past vice presidential nominee.
The Numbers Behind the Klobuchar Victory
The tally is unofficial, but it is lopsided. An aggregator, MultiState, shows Klobuchar at 55.6% to Demuth’s 42.6%. That is a margin of about 13 points. Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Steven Young took 1.8%.
The money gap was just as wide. Through mid-October, Klobuchar raised more than $15.5 million, while Demuth raised $3.6 million, according to campaign finance records cited by AP.
One caveat: those totals come from a single aggregator, so expect small shifts as counties certify.
The Scandal That Shaped the Minnesota Governor Race
This was supposed to be a different kind of year. Courts have convicted dozens of people of stealing what AP calls hundreds of millions of dollars from state-run programs that provide food, shelter, health care and child care. Walz ended his bid for a third term in January, after the investigation became a national story.
As a result, Republicans saw an opening to end a losing streak. Minnesota has not elected a Republican governor since Tim Pawlenty in 2006. President Trump aimed criticism at the state government and at Minnesota’s Somali refugee community, per AP.
So how did Klobuchar blunt it? She ran as the person who would clean it up. Her pledges include a “day one top-to-bottom audit of state agencies,” a “Do Not Pay” database and tougher penalties. Axios adds she has promised to replace leaders at fraud-plagued agencies.
She also leaned on distance from Washington, campaigning on not being a rubber stamp for Donald Trump.
What the Klobuchar Governor Win Means for Minnesotans
Here’s the thing: the audit is the easy promise. The hard one is the budget.
Klobuchar says her priority is lowering costs, including health care, child care and housing. She has also pledged no new taxes while preserving Democratic-backed programs. However, Minnesota Management and Budget projects spending will outrun revenue by the end of the decade, according to Yahoo News.
That means families waiting on cheaper child care or lower premiums should watch the first budget closely.
On election night she kept the tone conciliatory. “Whether or not I got your vote, I will give you my best,” she said. In her victory speech she added, “I am not interested in moving Minnesota to the left or the right, I want to move us forward.”
What Happens Next for the Minnesota Governor-Elect
The Minnesota governor-elect has to leave the U.S. Senate. WCCO reported in August that a gubernatorial appointee would fill the seat temporarily, with a special election to follow, though no one has confirmed the appointee or the timeline. Separately, CBS projects Democrat Peggy Flanagan won the state’s open Senate seat.
Her political arc is worth noting too. Her Senate margins shrank from 35 points in 2012 to 24 in 2018 and 16 in 2024. Klobuchar told the Star Tribune earlier this year she would not seek the presidency in 2028 or 2032 if elected governor.
The audit comes first. The agency shake-ups come next. The real test is whether she can fix what broke without breaking her budget.
