Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth entered the race for governor on Sunday, drawing on her status as the state’s top Republican to mount a campaign against Tim Walz.

Demuth, the first Republican woman and person of color to lead the Minnesota House, is casting herself as a pragmatic alternative to Walz who can end the GOP’s long losing streak in statewide elections. The Cold Spring lawmaker said she believes the state is heading in the wrong direction with unbridled spending, widespread fraud and fewer children reading at grade level.

“I’ve got kids and grandkids. Minnesota’s a really great place to be, and I want it to be even better than it is now,” said Demuth, the first House speaker to run for governor since Democrat Margaret Anderson Kelliher in 2010. “I know that I am the best candidate for conservatives, Republicans, Democrats here in the state of Minnesota.”

She joins a growing GOP field for governor that includes fellow state Rep. Kristin Robbins, 2022 nominee Scott Jensen and businessman Kendall Qualls. Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel is “strongly considering” entering the race as well, after speaking to conservative activists who’ve encouraged him to run, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

Republicans believe Walz is vulnerable as he seeks a third consecutive four-year term after a failed run for vice president. The national campaign prompted a much closer look at Walz’s record as governor and previous service in Congress.

Walz and Democrats have argued the governor’s office must stay in DFL hands to protect Minnesota from President Donald Trump.

“Minnesotans don’t want to put our state’s future in the hands of MAGA extremists — they want to build on the progress we’ve made to make our state safer and more affordable for everyone," Walz’s campaign said in a recent fundraising email.

Demuth said her experience sitting across the negotiating table from Walz and leading the first politically tied House since 1979 sets her apart from the rest of the GOP field. It has proved she can work across the aisle and represent all Minnesotans, she said.

Under her leadership, Demuth said, House Republicans successfully fought to cut spending and end state health care coverage for adult undocumented immigrants.

She said she will continue to serve as speaker while she runs for governor and won’t let her possible head-to-head matchup with Walz influence legislative negotiations.

“We got good work done for Minnesota,” Demuth said of the budget deal she struck with Walz and DFL leaders earlier this year.

Demuth served three terms on the Rocori school board before she was elected to the House. She and her husband have four adult children and seven grandchildren.

With two leading female candidates in Demuth and Robbins, it’s possible Republicans will nominate a woman for governor next year for the first time, said former GOP state Rep. Pat Garofalo, who served with both candidates in the House.

“It’s been 20 years since Republicans have won statewide,” he said. “Robbins and Demuth give Republicans a credible pathway to winning next November.”

If elected governor, Demuth said she would seek to improve the education system, stop fraud in state-run programs and work to “protect girls sports” from allowing transgender athletes, among other things.

She said she also would look at increasing funding for mental health services and extending school safety money to private and charter schools after the mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church and school in August.

Demuth said she is “pro-life” but views abortion as settled law in Minnesota. In addition to seeking the state GOP’s endorsement, Demuth said she also would welcome Trump’s backing in the race.

Garofalo said Demuth has an opportunity to create a bipartisan coalition at a time when both parties are “focusing more on their narrow political bases.” He called her “one of the hardest-working people in Republican politics in Minnesota.”

To win statewide, Garofalo said the GOP’s nominee for governor will need to appeal to voters who split their tickets between Democrats and Republicans in last year’s election.

“That subset of voters, they’re going to be the ones that determine who the next governor is,” he said.

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