Democrat Minnesota Governor and former U.S. Vice President candidate Tim Walz has announced he will not seek re-election, saying he wants to focus on governing as the state faces ongoing fallout from large-scale fraud in social safety net programmes.
Walz said the decision followed consultations with his family and advisers and came just four months after he launched a campaign for a third term.
His administration has faced intensifying criticism, particularly from Republicans and US President Donald Trump, over fraud cases linked predominantly to Somalian immigrants, involving Medicaid and Covid-19 relief funds, which prosecutors say have cost the state billions of dollars, with dozens of convictions secured so far.
The Trump administration has also frozen federal childcare funding for Minnesota, citing fraud concerns.
Walz said his priority was addressing criminal abuse of public programmes rather than defending a political campaign. His withdrawal leaves the Democratic field for the governorship open ahead of the next election.
