Gov. Tim Walz speaks after the end of the special session in June Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

Gov. Tim Walz made it clear he intends to run for an unprecedented third, four-year term in front of a group of a 100 or so Democratic donors Tuesday, according to two people who were there. 

In his speech at the Iron Ranger bar in St. Paul, Walz said something to the effect of “you’re all here making contributions, and you probably know I’m not going to run off to Mexico with your money, so look out for an announcement,” according to a source who attended the fundraiser and whose account was confirmed by another person there. 

“He made it clear he is moving in that direction,” said a person in attendance. 

The Reformer spoke to four people who were at the fundraiser or who have spoken to Walz about his plans in recent days. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to speak publicly.

Walz has also told several people privately but definitively that he will run again, and he will make a campaign announcement next week.

A Walz spokesman declined to comment. 

A DFL source who was at the event said Walz was thrown off by the June killing of Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was a friend and governing partner. But the recent mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, where schoolchildren were gathered for a celebratory Mass, “lit a fire in him” because he wants to provide leadership during another vulnerable moment in Minnesota history. 

Despite the advantages of incumbency, a robust fundraising operation and his own natural political skills, winning a third term won’t be easy. 

Walz would have to defend a lengthy record, during which he’s governed during some of the state’s worst crises: The pandemic and resulting academic declines; the murder of George Floyd and the uprising and rioting that followed; a spike in crime that has since subsided; emerging fiscal instability; and, finally, the political violence that took the life of Hortman and her husband Mark and badly wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. 

Another crisis has been state government’s own making: A wave of fraud in public programs is sure to be a centerpiece of the Republican campaign against him. 

Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican candidate for governor from Maple Grove and currently chair of the Minnesota House’s fraud prevention committee, said Walz has allowed rampant fraud in his own agencies.

“A third Walz term would be a disaster, and I’m stepping up to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Robbins said in a statement to the Reformer. “I am committed to stopping the fraud, restoring fiscal responsibility and bringing back common-sense leadership so the state works for Minnesotans, not against them.”

Scott Jensen, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, and Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive, are also running as GOP candidates. In a statement, Qualls said, “Walz’s first two terms as governor have been nothing but a failure.” 

Recent polling suggests that Walz remains popular with Minnesotans, but they are less pleased with the idea of him running for a third term. A June KSTP poll found that only 43% of Minnesotans surveyed say he should run again.

Despite Walz’s challenges, he has also enjoyed the highest of highs: A surprisingly easy 2022 reelection and a Democratic-Farmer-Labor trifecta that resulted in a bevy of legislative victories, from free school meals to drivers licenses for undocumented people, legal marijuana to huge investments in transportation and housing. He parlayed that record and a few high-profile national media appearances to emerge as Kamala Harris’ surprising pick to be her vice presidential nominee. 

A national media and public speaking tour earlier this year fueled speculation about a 2028 presidential run, but he’s already said he won’t run if he wins a third term. 

The last time Minnesota voters were faced with a governor seeking a third term, they rejected Iron Range Democrat Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1990.  

Police respond at Annunciation School after a man killed two children and injured several others Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed by a shooter who opened fire outside Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis, where students at the Catholic school were gathered Wednesday for Mass to celebrate the beginning of the school year.

Another 17 people were injured — 14 children and three parishioners in their 80s — and are being treated at area hospitals. One adult and six children were in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, according to Hennepin Healthcare.

Annunciation Principal Matt DeBoer said teachers acted within seconds of gunfire erupting to shelter children under pews.

“It could have been significantly worse without their heroic action,” DeBoer said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “We lost two angels today. Please continue to pray for those still receiving care. We can’t change the past, but we can do something about the future.”

The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, barricaded the door of the church with a wood board and shot dozens of rounds through the window using a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

“The coward that shot these victims took his own life in the rear of the church,” O’Hara said.

Outside the school after the shooting, parents were picking up their children, who wore the green polos that are the school uniform.

Susan Ruff, a neighbor whose children attended the school at Annunciation and has a grandson currently enrolled, said she saw the shooting from her window.

She witnessed a man dressed in black, wearing a helmet, with a long gun, shooting at the church from the outside. She heard 25 or 30 gun shots. “It sounded like someone was dropping a dumpster. That loud bang. But I kept hearing it, so I thought, that’s not a dumpster.” Her grandson was unhurt in the shooting.

Westman purchased the weapons legally and did not have a criminal record, O’Hara said. He said law enforcement were not seeking other suspects.

Court records show a Mary Westman, who retired from Annunciation Catholic School in 2021 according to a now-deleted Facebook post, requested a name change for her child from Robert to Robin in 2019 saying “minor identifies as female.” O’Hara said he could not confirm the suspect’s connection to the school or that the suspect changed their name.

O’Hara said investigators believe Westman is behind videos scheduled to post on YouTube on Wednesday morning, which have since been taken down. One video opens with a four-page handwritten screed that begins, “I don’t expect forgiveness … I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives.”

It also showed an arsenal of guns and ammunition with writing on them reading “Where Is Your God?” and “Suck On This!” Other writings, some in Russian, target President Donald Trump and wish death upon Jewish people.

Numerous law enforcement agencies were on the scene including the FBI, ATF and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

O’Hara said law enforcement are executing four search warrants, one at the church and three others at residences in the metro area connected to the suspect where firearms are being recovered.

“We are all working tirelessly to uncover the full scope of what happened, to try and identify a motive, why it happened, and whether there are any other further details,” O’Hara said.

Neighbors and former students said they were shaken by the shooting in the typically quiet southwestern Minneapolis neighborhood.

Jack Friedman, 25, went to the school and lives in the area. He said, “You never think that it’s going to happen at the school you went to, but then you start thinking how naïve to believe that. Because it happens everywhere.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, speaking at a news conference outside the school, called for action — not just thoughts and prayers, which has become a rote response to mass shootings.

“Don’t just say, this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” he said. “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”

Vigils are planned Wednesday night for the victims. Annunciation Church announced a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. in the Holy Angels Gym. Anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action announced a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. at Minneapolis Lynnhurst Park.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.

Speaker emeritus Rep. Melissa Hartman talks to colleagues during a special legislative session Monday, June 9, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus leader Melissa Hortman, who was among the most influential Minnesota elected officials of the past decade, died on Saturday morning after a man impersonating a police officer shot her in her Brooklyn Park home, Gov. Tim Walz said.

Hortman’s husband was also shot and killed, the governor said.

Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”

“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said. “(Hortman) was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”

Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times earlier in the evening in their Champlin home. Walz said they were out of surgery, and that he’s “cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.”

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Champlin law enforcement received a call at about 2 a.m. that a person shot Hoffman and his wife.

Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said his officers assisted with the Champlin shooting; a sergeant suggested checking in on Hortman’s home. They live about five to eight miles away from each other. When Brooklyn Park police officers arrived at Hortman’s home, they encountered a person who was dressed like a police officer who “immediately fired at them,” Evans said. Police exchanged gunfire with the person, but they were able to escape.

The shooter is still at large, and Brooklyn Park is under a shelter-in-place order. Hundreds of police officers and SWAT teams are conducting a manhunt for the person, officials said.

On Saturday afternoon, authorities asked for the public’s assistance in locating Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect connected with the shootings. They said he was last seen Saturday morning in Minneapolis wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and a cowboy hat.

Bruley said that when they arrived at Hortman’s home, they saw a police SUV with its lights on and saw the suspect was impersonating a police officer.

In the SUV, police found a “manifesto,” with a list of lawmakers and other officials on it. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list. According to an official who has seen the list, the targets included prominent pro-choice individuals in Minnesota, including many Democratic lawmakers who have been outspoken about their policy positions.

Hortman, who has two adult children, was first elected to the Legislature 2004 and served as House Speaker from 2019-2024. She lost two elections before winning, which she said gave her an understanding of what it takes to win swing seats and hold them.

Her speakership will be remembered as among the most consequential in recent Minnesota political history. With Walz and Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, she guided the state through the pandemic before helping Democrats achieve a trifecta in the 2022 election.

During the 2023 legislative session, she helped bridge the wide gulf between moderates and progressives in her caucus to achieve a historic legislative agenda. Democrats codified abortion rights in law; invested in education, including universal schools meals, as well as transportation and housing; created paid family leave; legalized cannabis; and passed gun control laws.

The encomiums poured in Saturday. “There is no greater champion for Minnesota’s working people than Melissa Hortman,” said Joel Smith, President and Business Manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, the laborers union.

Hoffman was elected in 2012 and is known for his work on human services.

The Reformer sat down with Hortman at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss the 2025 session, which ended on Monday.

During his remarks Saturday, Walz denounced political violence and said the people involved in the shooting would be caught and held responsible.

“This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said.

According to a source close to Walz, the governor spoke to Vice President J.D. Vance about the targeted attacks in Minnesota. The governor thanked the vice president for the coordination between federal law enforcement and Minnesota public safety officials.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, who worked closely with Hortman in the Legislature to negotiate a state budget this year, said she was horrified by Hortman’s murder.

“I am horrified by the evil attack that took place overnight, and heartbroken beyond words by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,” Demuth said in a statement.

 

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.

Minnesotal Gov. Tim Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”

Minnesotal Gov. Tim Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”