Amy Klobuchar Wins Minnesota Governor Race, Becomes the State's First Female Governor

Amy Klobuchar won Minnesota's race for governor on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, defeating Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Decision Desk HQ called the race for the Democratic senator at 12:03 a.m. Eastern time on November 4, with 77 percent reporting at call time. The Associated Press called the race for Klobuchar at 12:07 a.m. Eastern time.

A later Associated Press results snapshot showed Klobuchar with 1,244,843 votes and Demuth with 955,831, with 79.39 percent of precincts reporting and an estimated 76.56 percent of the vote counted. A Decision Desk HQ snapshot timestamped 12:10 a.m. Eastern time showed Klobuchar with 1,221,785 votes, or 55.93 percent, and Demuth with 923,136, or 42.26 percent. Both snapshots put Klobuchar well clear of Demuth with most of the vote counted.

A guaranteed first

The race was the first open governor's race in Minnesota since 2018, after Governor Tim Walz decided not to seek a third term. Klobuchar will be the first female governor in the state's history, according to FOX 9. The contest was an all-woman major-party race, so Minnesota was guaranteed its first female governor regardless of the outcome. Klobuchar's running mate is Ben Schierer. Demuth's running mate is Ryan Wilson.

How the race formed

Walz initially ran for a third term, then withdrew in January following a scandal over fraud in state funded social services. Klobuchar entered the race after his withdrawal and won the Democratic nomination with 89.7 percent. Demuth won the Republican primary with 43.4 percent, defeating businessman Mike Lindell, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. The general election then set a sitting United States senator against the speaker of the Minnesota House, in one of the most watched governor's races of the night.

What happens to her Senate seat

Klobuchar's move to the governor's office opens her United States Senate seat. What happens to the seat largely depends on the timing of her resignation, according to FOX 9. Under Minnesota state law, a special election for the seat must be held in November 2027, with a temporary appointee holding it in the meantime. That means Minnesota will elect a senator again next year, and the appointee named to fill the seat will hold it through the months ahead.

Klobuchar takes office in St. Paul as the first woman to lead the state, after a campaign season that began with a governor stepping aside and ended with a senator stepping up.