Walz Drops Gubernatorial Bid, But Minnesota Gun Owners Shouldn’t Cheer Yet

Well, maybe a little cheering is in order, given that Tim Walz’s campaign for a third term as Minnesota’s governor largely revolved around his push for a ban on so-called assault weapons. But even though Walz is ending his campaign over the allegations that he allowed billions of dollars in welfare fraud to take place under his watch, Minnesota gun owners shouldn’t get complacent or assume that whoever the Democrats end up nominating won’t be as bad on Second Amendment issues as Walz has been. 

Governor Walz is apparently announcing today that he is dropping out of the Governor’s race.

Rumor has it that Senator Amy Klobuchar will declare soon for Governor. It’s expected that others will enter the race as well.

What do you think this means for 2026 and gun rights here…

— MN Gun Owners Caucus (@mnguncaucus) January 5, 2026

What would a Klobuchar campaign mean for Minnesota gun owners? Well, for one thing, hearing about Klobuchar’s Uncle Dick in a deer stand ad nauseam. It feels like every time Klobuchar mentions guns or her support for gun control she invokes good ol’ Uncle Dick, who appears to have been stuck in that stand for years now. 

My uncle Dick never used a bump stock in his deer stand. They are dangerous and should be banned. Congress must act.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) June 14, 2024

That was from 2024, but Klobuchar’s been talking about Uncle Dick since at least 2019, when she launched her short-lived presidential campaign. 

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar says that she comes at gun safety legislation from the perspective of: “Would this hurt my Uncle Dick in the deer stand?”

Appearing Monday night at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate says her state values the outdoors as well as hunting and fishing.

She says banning assault weapons wouldn’t hurt her Uncle Dick in the deer stand, nor would background checks.

I wonder what Dick thinks about the demise of the $200 tax stamp on NFA items? I bet he’d love to use a suppressor up in that deer stand, don’t you? 

If Klobuchar does announce her own gubernatorial campaign, she’ll enjoy at least as much support from the gun control lobby as Walz received, if not more. The gun control group Giffords calls the Democrat senator “one of our country’s foremost champions for commonsense gun safety legislation” who’s displayed “fierce leadership” on things like a ban on so-called assault weapons. 

Even if Klobuchar takes a pass on running for governor, the Democrat bench in Minnesota is awfully thin in terms of Second Amendment supporters. Other names being floated as potential candidates include anti-gun Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who was a staunch gun control supporter while in the state legislature. 

And with Walz no longer on the campaign trail but wanting to leave a legacy for his eight years in office, his efforts to enact a ban on modern sporting rifles and commonly-owned magazines aren’t going to stop. If anything, I expect him to redouble his efforts in the months ahead. 

The Minnesota House remains a firewall for gun owners in the state, and it’s still an open question as to whether Walz even has the votes for his gun ban in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Still, expect the lame-duck governor to go all-in on his push for a gun ban in the upcoming session, and gun owners can’t afford to be complacent just because he’s stepping down as a candidate.  

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment. 

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