MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she’ll run for a third term in 2018, meaning she won’t run for Minnesota governor.

Klobuchar said many Democrats asked her to run for governor, but she felt it was more important to try to find ways to work with Republicans in Washington during the Donald Trump administration.

She said she’s been “able to get through the gridlock” before and “can’t just walk away when it’s an ugly time.”

Gov. Mark Dayton isn’t running for re-election. Two Democrats, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and state Rep. Erin Murphy of St. Paul, have declared their candidacy.

State Republican Party chairman Keith Downey said the GOP will “fight hard” to try to beat Klobuchar and win the governor’s office.

Klobuchar was first elected to the Senate in 2006.

She is the first woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

Prior to being elected to the Senate, she served as Hennepin County attorney and as legal adviser to former Vice President Walter Mondale.

She is the ranking Senate member of several committees, including a judiciary subcommittee.