Klobuchar is leaving the U.S. Senate after nearly 20 years to run Minnesota, defeating Republican Lisa Demuth for the governor’s office.
Amy Klobuchar, 66, built her career step by step: a Yale and University of Chicago law graduate, she became Hennepin County attorney — the top prosecutor for Minneapolis — in 1999, then won a U.S. Senate seat in 2006. In the Senate she earned a reputation across party lines for passing bills on consumer protection, competition and infrastructure, and she ran for president in 2020.
Now she comes home to the biggest executive job in Minnesota. She takes over a state government with real decisions ahead on taxes, health care and how far state power should go in fighting Washington.
Watch her first budget and her management style — senators write laws, governors have to run things. Minnesotans are about to see whether the Senate’s dealmaker can run a state.
Fast facts
- Age: 66
- Party: Democratic
- Office: Governor of Minnesota
- State: Minnesota
- Previous job: U.S. senator from Minnesota (since 2007)
- Called by AP: verified in the desk’s 1:30 a.m. ET check, Nov. 4
Part of the Zark News Election 2026 winners profile series. Winners are listed as called by the Associated Press.
