![State Auditor Julie Blaha right talked with St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell at the House Hope in St. Paul.] Jerry Holt •Jerry.Holt@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/EQ2GHOVXNJL45Y27G4DT56SJWQ.jpg?fit=crop&crop=faces&w=550&&auto=format)
Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha announced Tuesday that she's running for re-election.
The statewide office oversees the books of $40 billion in local government spending each year and oversaw an additional $20 billion issued to the state from the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic.
During her announcement Tuesday evening, Blaha said she'd like to add an accountability team that focuses on schools' spending.
Blaha's predecessor, Rebecca Otto, went to court in 2016 over a 2015 state law that allowed counties to hire a private firm to check their books instead of going through the state auditor. Otto lost an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court and now about half of the state's counties use private firms. The state budget passed in July included funding to start a new schools auditing team within the State Auditor's Office.
"We've gone from losing the ability to audit some counties to taking over the oversight of over $20 billion additional money of federal spending," Blaha said Tuesday night. "Bringing people together saved our office and it's what's going to rebuild us further and is how we're going to win in 2022."
No Republicans have announced a campaign yet to challenge her next fall.
Alex Chhith • 612-673-4749
