State Auditor Julie Blaha won’t seek a third term, says she’s keeping options open
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Last week, State Auditor Julie Blaha announced that she would not seek reelection in 2026.
Blaha is Minnesota’s 19th State Auditor. She has been in office since January 2019 and narrowly won her current term in 2022. Blaha will serve through Jan. 4, 2027.
Blaha joined MPR news host Emily Bright to talk about her tenure and how she’s thinking about the future.
A transcript of their conversation is below, edited for length and clarity. Press play above to listen.
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Why did you decide not to seek another term as Minnesota’s State Auditor?
I started thinking about the end of my term right at the beginning. My thought was, “OK, what kind of metrics do you need to have in place to transition the office to a new leader?” So, I was looking at, “Are we a strong office? Are we respected? Are we able to serve Minnesota in a way they deserve?” I'd say we are strong on all those counts.
We have expanded the work we do. We are supporting an extremely important level of government [in] the things we do locally — cities, towns, townships, counties, soil and water districts. The place where the action really is.
And frankly, I think there are some people that are ready to take on this role, too.
You’ve been in the office for about 6 years. What are some changes you’ve made?
I’m proud of the fact that we’ve helped elevate the importance of local government. I’ve also brought a lot of people together that were pretty disconnected when I came in. Frankly, when I came into office, it was under some pretty heavy attack.
You had a group that wanted to either defund it or even shut it down entirely. I came back from that by rebuilding our relationships and really listening to the people that are doing the work, both in my office and in local government. We also have increased our support by pulling together stakeholders to talk about how we’re going to handle the shortage of public finance staff all across the country.
I believe that I’ve helped really connect Minnesota to one of the best resources they’ve had, and that’s our state auditor team.
What does it take to succeed as a state auditor?
You need a lot of discipline. You have to be disciplined to really stay focused on where you’re most needed.
It’s really tempting, and especially the last several years, every so often get this idea of like, “Well, why don’t you investigate Feeding Our Future? Why don’t you investigate the autism centers?” It’s like, well, the legislative auditor has that purview and I trust she can do that job.
But to chase the shiny object, or the thing that’s in the headlines, means you’d have to take away time from local government. And they matter. And they need somebody who stays focused on them. Our whole goal is not to make a headline, but to keep other people out of headlines.
So, you have to stay really disciplined to say, “Yes, these other issues may be important, but this is too and I’m going to keep my focus on that local level that’s so close to home.”
You’ll continue in your capacity until 2027 but after that, will you continue to serve the state in a different capacity? Is there another office or race you're thinking of entering?
One thing I’ve learned with this announcement is that we don’t have even vocabulary to talk about transitioning. If you’re a politician, the only thing we can think about is, “If you’re not running again, well, there must be either a scandal, [sickness] or maybe, worst of all, are you running for governor?” And I am not running for governor. Not interested in that at all.
I’m keeping my options open. I’ve always said, “Hey, I’ll just go where I’m needed.” And I’m not sure in a year where I’m going to be most needed, but I’m watching for that. Where can I serve Minnesota in a way that helps them get things done? Locally, close to home, really good, concrete things. That’s what I’m looking for as for my next opportunity.
Our political reporters have told us about your signature drink. Can you tell us about the ‘Blaha Blast?’
One of the things about being in a small but mighty agency is that you really do need some energy, and most people know I already come with quite a bit. But accidentally I mixed coffee and Mountain Dew — and it was amazing.
I really united a lot of people over that drink, and I think this might be emblematic of my office when we brought people together. I had Democrats asking me if I was OK. I had Republicans saying, “Oh my gosh. Do you need some help?”
I mean, people came together in disgust. And I’ll tell you what, any opportunity I have to bring people together I will take.
