Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison (D.) is reportedly considering a run for governor following Tim Walz’s (D.) exit from the race amid a sprawling Somali welfare fraud scheme that happened under his watch.
A person familiar with Ellison’s thinking told the Star Tribune that the left-wing prosecutor is weighing a gubernatorial bid. In the wake of Walz’s decision to end his campaign, Ellison called Walz a "remarkable leader" who left a "legacy to be damn proud of."
Ellison’s interest in the race comes as he faces mounting scrutiny over his own handling of the Somali welfare fraud scandal. He was criticized for a December 2021 meeting with representatives from Feeding Our Future, a fraudulent charity organized by a group of mostly Somali immigrants to steal money from a federal child nutrition program.
In the meeting, Ellison told the fraudsters he was "here to help" and offered to intervene with state officials blocking their funding applications. Nine days later, he took four campaign contributions totaling $10,000 from the fraudsters. When federal prosecutors began indicting the fraudsters, Ellison’s office issued a statement claiming to have worked "for two solid years" to hold Feeding Our Future accountable. Ellison would later concede he was unaware a federal investigation was already "in full swing" at the time of his meeting. The investigation has led to 78 indictments and uncovered similar Somali-related fraud in other welfare programs.
Walz’s exit came as polling showed Minnesotans were dismayed by fraud in the state. Seventy-nine percent of registered voters think fraud in state programs is either the biggest or a major problem in the state, a KSTP and Survey USA poll found. Nearly 7 in 10 Minnesotans said Walz needed to "do more" to stop the fraud.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is also reportedly eyeing a gubernatorial bid. She had a meeting with Walz in which she confirmed her interest in replacing him and reportedly registered a domain name for her campaign before Walz's announcement that he would not seek reelection.
