OAN Staff Sophia Flores
10:57 AM – Monday, January 5, 2026
Amid escalating controversy surrounding the massive welfare and childcare fraud scandals on his watch, estimated by federal prosecutors to exceed billions in taxpayer losses, Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz announced that he is abandoning his 2026 re-election campaign and will forgo a third term.
On Monday, Walz (D-Minn.) made the surprise announcement from the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. In his speech, Walz claimed that he was leaving the race in order to focus on “defending the people of Minnesota.”
“But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” he said. “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.”
“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said.
The Democrat also took to X to share a statement addressing his now-void re-election bid.
This decision follows renewed scrutiny sparked by independent journalist Nick Shirley, whose late-2025 viral investigation uncovered a number of “inactive” Somali-owned daycare centers in Minneapolis that had collectively received over $110 million in state and federal childcare assistance funds, raising even more allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs during Walz’s administration.
As a result, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not only paused federal childcare funding to Minnesota, but also to every U.S. state that refuses to present evidence of legitimate spending.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told ABC News last week that states will receive the funds “only when states prove they are being spent legitimately.” Future payments now require prior justification, receipts, or photo evidence to verify legitimate spending before funds are released.
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