We’ve been saying for weeks now that the walls were closing in on Gov. Tim Walz, and it looks like Walz finally conceded that we were right. He is dropping his bid for reelection as Minnesota’s governor as the investigation into rampant Medicaid fraud on his watch intensifies. But, make no mistake about it, dropping out of the race won’t save him from being held accountable.
Walz had been defiant as the federal investigation into the fraud closed in, but clearly, he realized he was in trouble. Gov. Tim Walz tried to spin his ending his campaign as a heroic act of “servant leadership,” even as a massive fraud scandal engulfed his administration. In a statement aimed at saving face, he painted himself as the lone defender of Minnesota against the scam.
He opened with a plea for sympathy: “It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state. And it ended on a particularly sour note.” He noted that organized criminals had been exploiting the state’s generosity, but rather than accept responsibility for allowing it to happen, he blamed Republicans and President Trump for exploiting the crisis to make Minnesota “a colder, meaner place.”
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Then he highlighted his own efforts to fight fraud, which, according to estimates, range from $9 billion to $18 billion: “We’ve gone to the legislature time and again to get more tools to combat fraud. We’ve fired people who weren’t doing their jobs. We’ve seen people go to jail for stealing from our state. We’ve put new locks on the doors of our remaining programs, and we’ve hired a new head of program integrity to make sure those locks can’t be broken.”
And, of course, he insisted the problem wasn’t his administration’s fault but the result of Republican “political gamesmanship”: “We’ve got Republicans here in the legislature playing hide-and-seek with whistleblowers. We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers… It is disgusting. And it is dangerous.”
The funniest part, though, was how he tried to frame his dropping out of the race as a selfless act. “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… So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”
Minnesota has to come first - always.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 5, 2026
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
Horsefeathers.
Hundreds of state employees say they warned Walz early, only to face retaliation. Walz has simply figured out that this scandal would likely hurt his party’s ability to hold onto the governorship. But if he thinks dropping out of the race will absolve him of accountability, he’s got another thing coming.
“Massive fraud of taxpayer dollars occurred on Tim Walz’s watch. He’s either complicit in this theft or grossly incompetent in preventing it,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement. “Though Tim Walz is not running for governor again, he cannot run from accountability. The House Oversight Committee demands that he appear for a public hearing on February 10 to expose this fraud and begin the process of accountability. The American people deserve answers, and they deserve them now.”
No one believes this act that Walz is dropping out of the race to focus on fighting fraud. Over 400 Department of Human Services employees not only blamed Walz for the fraud but also accused him of retaliating against them for bringing it to light.
Walz and other Minnesota Democrats also appear to have received kickbacks for allowing the fraud to continue. Walz alone received nearly $10,000 from donors affiliated with Somali-operated daycare centers.
Leaving the race won’t stop Walz from having to answer tough questions and potentially face charges for allowing the fraud to take place.
