After months of speculation about whether he may run for president in 2028, Gov. Tim Walz told a South Dakota political reporter on Saturday, “I’m not interested” in a run at the White House.
The former Democratic vice-presidential candidate was the keynote speaker at McGovern Day Dinner in Sioux Falls over the weekend, where he spent time entertaining guests by lobbing political insults at current and former Republican governors.
The event represents the Democratic Party of South Dakota’s largest fundraiser.
Walz has been on a political tour of sorts the last several months, speaking at town halls across the country and at Democratic state conventions in California and South Carolina, all while holding his cards close to his vest on whether he’ll run for a third term as governor next year. His efforts to remain on the national stage have fueled speculation that he may make a bid for the White House in 2028.
But on Saturday, Tom Lawrence, a local journalist, sat down with Walz right before he walked on stage to deliver what Lawrence described as a “fiery and funny” speech in front of some of the the state’s top Democrat donors.
During the interview, Lawrence said the former running mate of Kamala Harris told him that he will not run for president in 2028.
“I will do whatever it takes to get someone elected,” Walz told Lawrence. “But I’m not interested.”
“Is there any way Walz will change his mind?” Lawrence wrote in a column he published Tuesday.
“No,” Walz told Lawrence, who described that as “a surprise.”
“I expected Walz to dance around the question, offer a non-answer answer,” Lawrence wrote. “But nope, was fast and firm. He will not run for president. Of course, politicians, like old boxers, retire and return a lot. So, let’s keep an eye on him still.”
Lawrence also wrote that Walz revealed to him that he “isn’t even sure he will run for a third term as governor. He said he will decide after the Minnesota State Fair wraps up on Sept. 1.”
That comes after Walz told local media that he planned to wait until the end of July to announce whether he’ll run for a third term. He already declared earlier this year that he will not seek a term in the U.S. Senate. His lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, is running for Senate.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
