00:00Well, good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year.
00:02Like many Minnesotans, I have to tell you, I was glad to turn the page on 2025.
00:08It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state, and it ended on a particularly sour note.
00:14For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of this state's generosity.
00:20And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters,
00:23we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of a crisis.
00:27I don't want to mince words here.
00:30Donald Trump and his allies in Washington and in St. Paul and online want to make our state a colder, meaner place.
00:38They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors.
00:42And ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in the country to raise a family.
00:51Republicans are playing politics with the future of this state.
00:53It's shameful, and I've said it before, and I will continue to say it.
00:58We welcome ideas from anyone, in any party, from any walk of life, who wants to help us continue to stay ahead of these criminals.
01:07And we welcome the involvement of the federal government.
01:09I am grateful to the career professionals at the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI who have been helping us fight this fight for years.
01:18But I cannot abide the actions of the political leadership in Washington.
01:24These opportunists are willing to hurt our people to score cheap points.
01:29They and their allies have no intention of helping us solve this problem, and every intention of trying to profit off of it.
01:36Which brings me to this.
01:382026 is an election year.
01:40Election years have a way of ramping up the politics at a time when we simply can't afford more of that in Minnesota.
01:46In September, I announced that I would seek a historic third term as Minnesota's governor, and I have every confidence that if I gave it my all, we would win the race.
01:57But as I reflect on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can't give a political campaign my all.
02:05Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can't spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who want to prey on our differences.
02:19So I've decided to step out of this race, and I'll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that's in front of me for the next year.
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