Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said on Monday that he will be ending his bid for re-election amid a fraud scandal in the state that had recently become the focus of US President Donald Trump.
Walz, who ran for vice president alongside Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, said he decided to step out of the race to "focus on the work" of governor rather than a campaign.
Republicans have criticised Walz for his handling of fraud involving the state's social safety net programmes. Walz has said that his government is taking measures to prevent future fraud.
Among the critics was Trump, whose administration had recently frozen federal funds for childcare in Minnesota.
In his statement on Monday, Walz described the past year as an "extraordinarily difficult" one for his state.
