Republican Scott Jensen announces second run for Minnesota governor

Republican Scott Jensen embarked on his second campaign for Minnesota governor on Thursday, vowing to do things differently than when he lost to DFL Gov. Tim Walz in 2022.

The Chaska physician and former state senator said his bid will not be “confined by partisan rhetoric” and will have a more universal focus on issues. He pointed to his time in the state Senate, where he developed a reputation as a moderate who worked across the aisle on such goals as lowering prescription drug prices.

“When I was in the Senate, I was considered to be an independent thinker,” he said in an interview. “I think we’re going to see more of that.”

Jensen joins Kendall Qualls as the only prominent Republicans to enter the 2026 race so far. Qualls, an Army veteran and former health care executive, also campaigned for governor in 2022 but narrowly lost the GOP endorsement to Jensen.

Other Republicans are rumored to be considering the race, including state Rep. Kristin Robbins and attorney Chris Madel.

Walz hasn’t formally announced if he’ll run for re-election, but in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune last week, he was bullish about his chances.

“If we run again, we will win,” Walz said. “I have the capacity to ramp up a campaign that would be bigger than anything that they would see.”

In a recent Star Tribune poll, Walz had a 49% approval rating. About half of Minnesotans surveyed said they didn’t want him to run for a historic third consecutive term.

In his first run for governor, Jensen rose to prominence as an outspoken skeptic of COVID-19 vaccines, pandemic death counts and mask mandates. At one point, he said he would work to ban abortion in Minnesota — a comment that came back to haunt him after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Democratic groups hammered him on the issue.

Jensen lost to Walz by nearly 8 percentage points, drawing fewer votes than the GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor.

This time, Jensen said he considers abortion to be “settled law” in Minnesota. He said he would prefer to support women by improving access to birth control, family planning resources and adoption proceedings.

He said the state Republican Party platform has been “problematic” and must be “dramatically changed.”

“I’m not going to lock, stock and barrel support a platform that doesn’t attend to all voices, because I want everybody to feel like their voice is being heard, and I think sometimes our platform has been narrow and shaped by rhetoric,” Jensen said.

“I support gay marriage, and I’m not interested in endorsing a platform that speaks against it.”

The Democratic Governors Association signaled Thursday that it doesn’t plan to let Jensen easily distance himself from previous positions.

“Jensen brings to this race a disastrous and disqualifying record of supporting a massive tax hike on working families, pushing extreme conspiracy theories, and supporting a dangerous abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest,” association spokeswoman Izzi Levy said in a statement.

Jensen said he will focus on curbing inflation, crime and fraud in public programs, among other things. He said he is planning to spend the first 100 days of his campaign on a statewide listening tour.

“The pathway this time is to focus on good governance and creating opportunities … for all people, and recognizing that people want transparent, authentic leadership, not just politics as usual," Jensen said.