Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary narrows further after Jensen drops bid
Scott Jensen, a Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate, announced he will drop his bid for governor and instead run for state auditor to combat fraud and waste, saying it’s time to restore trust and “declare war” on abuse.He is the second Republican to withdraw from the race after Chris Madel, who left last month citing disagreements with the national party’s immigration stance; Madel’s exit followed a Border Patrol shooting that killed Alex Pretti.Jensen’s withdrawal comes as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, pursues the governor’s office, with Republican hopefuls Kristin Robbins and Phillip Parrish rising as front-runners. Jensen argued that Minnesota’s problems won’t be solved by simply changing leaders, framing himself as a watchdog against fraud in a state plagued by a large fraud scandal that allegedly diverted billions from public-benefit programs to shell companies and overseas accounts. The scandal has coincided with Gov. Tim Walz’s push to testify before congress on Minnesota fraud, and Walz has said he will not seek re-election or hold office again.
Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary narrows further after Jensen drops bid
Minnesota GOP Gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen said Monday he will no longer seek the leading office in the state and will instead run for state auditor to “declare war” on fraud.
“It’s time to declare war on waste and fraud and abuse,” Jensen said in a video posted on X. “It’s time to resurrect a good government.”
Jensen is the second Republican candidate to drop out of the governor’s race in Minnesota after GOP attorney Chris Madel ended his campaign last month.
Madel cited conflict with the national party’s approach to immigration as reason for his exit. His announcement came after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti. Pretti died in a physical confrontation that began when he intervened in an immigration operation he had been recording on his phone.
Both Jensen and Madel announced their resignations just weeks after Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said she will seek the governor’s office.
Madel said at the time that his decision had nothing to do with Klobuchar’s run. Jensen did not mention the senator in his announcement.
Klobuchar has pushed ahead of GOP candidates in the governor’s race. Kristin Robbins and Phillip Parrish have emerged as Republican front-runners. Jensen was previously the leading GOP candidate to take on Klobuchar before announcing he would not seek the office.
Jensen said his decision to end his gubernatorial campaign is due to Minnesota’s inability to be fixed by a leadership change.
“Our state’s problems can’t be fixed by simply replacing a leader,” Jensen said. “Our biggest problem right now is broken trust in government.”
Jensen positioned himself as a “watchdog” that would end massive fraud in the state that has made it the “laughingstock of the nation.”
The former state senator ran a campaign for governor in 2022, but was beaten by Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) by 192,000 votes.
Jensen centering his campaign for state auditor on an anti-fraud platform comes as Walz is set to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next month on the widespread fraud in the state.
The Minnesota fraud scandal involves the alleged theft of billions in taxpayer dollars from public benefit programs — including food aid, Medicaid, and child care — due to systemic oversight failures and ignored warnings.
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Investigators estimate that these fraudulent schemes, such as the Feeding Our Future case, diverted essential resources away from vulnerable residents to shell companies and overseas accounts.
Shortly after the fraud scandal made national headlines, Walz announced he would no longer seek reelection or public office ever again.
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