US Senator Klobuchar launches run for Minnesota governor amid ICE turmoil

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced her candidacy for Minnesota governor on Thursday as the state reels from President Donald Trump’s federal immigration crackdown in which two U.S. citizens were killed this month.

The four-term U.S. senator had filed paperwork one week ago to seek the office being vacated by retiring Democrat Tim Walz but postponed her announcement after immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, sparking outrage that has pushed Trump to reshuffle staff.

“3,000 ICE agents on our streets and in our towns sent by an administration that relishes division,” Klobuchar said in a video posted on X. “These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps for this administration but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.”

“I’m running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love,” she added.

Klobuchar also cited the killing of Renee Good earlier this month. Good and Pretti, both 37, were protesting ICE tactics in the state’s largest city when they were shot. She also cited the assassination of one state lawmaker and the shooting of another as well as a shooting at a Minneapolis church during a Mass for Catholic school children.

The unrest over immigration has thrust the state in the international spotlight and drawn rare criticism from some of Trump’s fellow Republicans before November congressional elections.

Republican lawyer Chris Madel dropped his bid for governor on Monday, denouncing what he called a campaign of retribution against the Midwestern state. “The national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota,” he said in a video posted on X.

Walz, who said earlier this month he would not seek a third term, on Wednesday vowed to never seek elected office again, saying he had become ‘a lightning rod’ for political enemies.

Klobuchar, in her video, also said she would fight abuse and fraud and fight for better healthcare. The state has been grappling with a childcare centers that has threatened federal funding.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu)