Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said on Tuesday that he would “rather eat glass” than replace gubernatorial candidate Amy Klobuchar’s (D-Minn.) in her U.S. Senate seat if she is elected.
The lighthearted moment occurred when the governor took a question on the way to the podium at a press conference on Tuesday.
“The context was Eric asked me if I would like to fill out Sen. Klobuchar’s Senate term, and I said, ‘I would rather eat glass than do that,’” Walz said.
Walz announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection amid a growing social services fraud controversy in his state. Klobuchar entered the race at the end of January and is considered the frontrunner to replace Walz.
Minnesota’s gubernatorial election will be held in November. If Klobuchar wins, either she or Walz will select a temporary replacement to fill her Senate seat before a special election can be held.
Klobuchar makes her gubernatorial bid in the wake of a massive federal immigration crackdown in the state, during which federal agents shot and killed two Minnesota residents.
“Minnesotans, we’ve been through a lot,” the senator wrote on the social platform X alongside her campaign announcement video. “And I believe this moment calls for grit, resilience, and faith in each other.
“I believe we must stand up for what’s right. And fix what’s wrong,” she continued.
Walz has spent the last month fighting with the Trump administration after it deployed thousands of federal agents as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Metro Surge.” The operation sparked intense protests in the state over these agents’ use of force.
Two Minnesota residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal officers during this operation.
Both Walz and Klobuchar decried these killings and called on the Trump administration to cease the operation and pull federal agents out of the state. Trump border czar Tom Homan announced the end of the Minnesota operation last Thursday and said that agents would continue departing the state through next week.
