spoiler
Democratic US Senator Amy Klobuchar has said she is running for governor in her home state of Minnesota amid the tumult of an ongoing immigration crackdown.
In a video released on Thursday, she called for unity across all parties, billing herself as someone who could heal political divisions and was "willing to find common ground". Her candidacy comes after the incumbent governor, Tim Walz, announced he would end his re-election campaign early amid criticism of his handling of a fraud scandal in the state. Klobuchar, a four-term senator, reportedly delayed her announcement after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti on Saturday, two weeks after they also killed another US citizen, Renee Good.
These killings and other altercations have put the tactics and use of force by federal agents under intense scrutiny. The operation has become controversial due to these and other violent episodes which have been filmed and shared widely on social media. US President Donald Trump recently pledged to "de-escalate" the operation.
Klobuchar will be seen by many pundits as the frontrunner in November's governor contest, as the best-known Democratic figure to declare their candidacy ahead of the primary elections. Republicans, meanwhile, have not won a statewide race since 2006. One Republican contender, Chris Madel, ended his own bid for state governor on Monday, citing the immigration enforcement in his state as an "unmitigated disaster".
Referring to recent turmoil in her state, Klobuchar said in her video: "We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is. But in these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom, and simple decency and goodwill."
Klobuchar also addressed other incidents of violence that have rocked her state in recent months, including the murder of a state lawmaker and her husband, and the deadly shooting of two children inside a church.
Political observers suggested that the theme of her message was more centrist, compared with other Democratic candidates who have taken a more combative stance against the Trump administration. Klobuchar did not mention President Donald Trump by name, but referred to the deployment of about 3,000 federal immigration agents "on our streets and in our towns, sent by an administration that relishes division".
She also referenced the fraud scandal that led to Walz ending his campaign, saying: "I will make sure the people who steal taxpayer money go to jail and root out the fraud."
When announcing he would end his re-election bid, Walz said he would "focus on the work" of governor rather than a campaign. He has also said his government is taking measures to prevent future fraud. In her bio, Klobuchar describes herself as a veteran bipartisan lawmaker willing to work across the aisle. After being sworn into the Senate in her first term in 2007, Klobuchar has risen through the ranks and joined multiple committees, and had a stint as the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee.
"We must secure the existence of 'common ground'
and a future for 'all parties'