What happens to Amy Klobuchar's U.S. Senate seat if she runs for governor?

Christopher Vondracek, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 5, 2026

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Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is mulling whether to run for governor after Tim Walz announced he won’t seek a third term this fall.

Should she decide to run, it’s common for members of Congress to remain in office while campaigning for governor.

At least three of Klobuchar’s Senate colleagues — Colorado’s Michael Bennet, Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville and Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn — are running for governor in their states. All plan to remain in the closely divided Senate through Election Day.

But if Klobuchar runs, secures the Democratic nomination and wins in November, the DFLer would resign from Congress after the election in order to serve as governor. The resignation would trigger a tricky, though not unheard of, round of political musical chairs.

Under Minnesota law, if a U.S. senator resigns, the governor can appoint a temporary replacement until a special election can be held, usually aligning with the next major election.

The person who is appointed to fill the vacancy could run in the special election, along with other candidates. That is what happened when former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appointed then-Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy created after former U.S. Sen. Al Franken resigned in December 2017. Smith ran in the special election and won in 2018.

The candidate who wins the special election would serve out the remainder of Klobuchar’s term, which ends in early January 2031.

Peter Bartz-Gallagher, spokesman for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, speaking to what the law allows, said that in the event Klobuchar runs and wins, Walz could decline to name a successor, leaving the appointment to her.

Klobuchar could also resign from the U.S. Senate just prior to taking the oath as governor, assuming the power to fill the vacancy.

There is no immediate timeline for when she’ll make a decision, but a source close to Klobuchar added the four-term senator is “getting a lot of outreach from people encouraging her to run.”

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(Nathaniel Minor of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)

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