Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins announced Wednesday that she is running for Minnesota governor.
Robbins, of Maple Grove, was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2018. She’s the chair of the recently formed Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.
In her campaign announcement, Robbins focused on fraud and fiscal issues — criticizing two-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of both.
“Under his mismanagement and leadership failures, our state has been heading in the wrong direction. Tim Walz burned through an $18 billion budget surplus, raised taxes by $10 billion, and allowed massive fraud to run rampant in his own agencies,” Robbins said in the announcement. “Minnesotans deserve a leader who puts them first. I am committed to stopping the fraud, restoring fiscal responsibility, and bringing back common-sense leadership so the state works for Minnesotans, not against them.”
Robbins joins an increasingly crowded Republican field for governor for the 2026 election — including 2022 GOP nominee Scott Jensen along with Kendall Qualls, Phillip Parrish and Brad Kohler.
Walz has not said whether he’ll seek a third term next year. No Minnesota governor has served three consecutive terms in office.
In a statement in response to Robbins’ candidacy, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Richard Carlbom said Robbins has “spent the last year attempting to take meals away from students and paid leave away from their parents. She has a long-standing history of turning her back on those who need our support now more than ever.”
