Minnesota’s Primary Election, which takes place August 14th, could possibly be the most crowded, intriguing, and drama-filled in Minnesota history. Minnesota has a number of constitutional offices and congressional seats in play. Despite both the Republican and Democratic parties endorsing candidates at their respective conventions, a number of candidates have chosen to take their chances with primary voters anyway. To help sort through it all, below is a brief description of each of the major candidates vying for their party’s endorsement in tomorrow’s primary election.
Governor/Lieutenant Governor (Open Seat)
After two terms, Governor Dayton is retiring.
Democratic Candidates
Erin Murphy/Erin Maye Quade (Endorsed Candidate)
Erin Murphy is a six-term State Representative from St. Paul. She is a former nurse. Her running mate is a first-term, bi-racial State Representative from Apple Valley whose message centers around equity issues. Their platform highlights strong public schools, raising the gas tax to pay for transportation infrastructure, gun control measures, a single-payer healthcare system, efforts to address climate change, and renewable energy options. Murphy advocates for reducing carbon emissions and expanding investments in wind, solar, and biomass. She wants to invest more in the Natural Resources Research Institute to make advances in clean water.
Tim Walz/Peggy Flanagan
U.S. Representative Tim Walz (1st District) has been serving in Congress since 2006. He is a former Mankato high school teacher/coach. Peggy Flanagan is a two-term State Representative from St. Louis Park, and is a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Walz and Flanagan have highlighted Native American issues: honoring tribal sovereignty, prioritizing equitable education for Native students, working in collaboration with the tribes to combat the opioid crisis, and protecting and investing in the well-being of Native American children and their families. They are also seeking to expand the Renewable Energy Standard, reduce carbon emissions, and work with farmers on clean water solutions. Walz submitted a letter to the Public Utilities Commission expressing his concern that tribal rights must be respected through the Enbridge Line 3 review process. Like Murphy, he supports raising the gas tax to pay for transportation projects and gun control measures. He has released a “One Minnesota” plan to attempt to bridge the rural/urban divide.
Lori Swanson/Rick Nolan
Lori Swanson is the current State Attorney General (since 2006) and an Eagan resident. U.S. Representative Rick Nolan (8th District) has been serving in Congress for six terms. He is from Brainerd and serves on the bipartisan Congressional Climate Change Caucus. Swanson wants to appoint a “Career and Technical Education Czar” to focus on the workforce shortage. Swanson’s office represented the State in legal actions to defend the Clean Power Plan, limiting carbon-dioxide emissions. She supports raising the Renewable Energy Standard, reducing carbon emissions by building more wind power, incentivizing solar, supporting energy conservation and efficiency programs, and helping communities refurbish their wastewater treatment and drinking water systems.
Republican Candidates
Tim Pawlenty/Michelle Fischbach
Former two-term Minnesota Governor and Eagan resident Tim Pawlenty announced in April that he would run for Governor. Michelle Fischbach served as a State Senator from Paynesville for eight terms. Pawlenty has highlighted the need to make college more affordable, cut down on health care fraud, eliminate taxes on social security benefits, and go after drug companies responsible for the opioid crisis. In 2007, Governor Pawlenty signed the Next Generation Energy Act, directing State agencies to reduce greenhouse gases and develop a market-based and multi-sector cap-and-trade mechanism. However, in 2009 he called cap-and-trade overly bureaucratic.
Jeff Johnson/Donna Bergstrom
Jeff Johnson is a Hennepin County Commissioner and former State Representative from Plymouth. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2014. His running mate, Donna Bergstrom, is a Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians member and a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer from Duluth. Johnson is positioning himself as the conservative candidate advocating for a smaller State government with lower taxes and reduced spending. Johnson supports work requirements for welfare recipients, suspending the refugee resettlement program, school choice, and placing stringent restrictions on abortion. He wants to move the State away from the Affordable Care Act to a free-market system. Johnson is a vocal Trump supporter.
Attorney General (Open Seat)
The Democrats have controlled the Attorney General’s office since 1971.
Democratic Candidates
Matt Pelikan (Endorsed Candidate)
Matt Pelikan is an openly gay, Democratic activist and attorney. Pelikan is running on a platform of equity and diversity. He supports divestment from fossil fuels, protecting Minnesota’s waters from mining, and opposes “dangerous” pipeline projects.
Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison has served in the U.S. Congress for the 5th District since 2007. Ellison has a progressive agenda and has been an ardent Trump critic. He calls himself a champion for labor and workers’ rights. Ellison sponsored a $15 minimum wage bill and led the charge against wage theft at the federal level. He is in favor of a Single-Payer health care plan, a union advocate, and intends to fight any efforts to undermine the Clean Power Plan. Ellison is expected to wade into national issues.
Debra Hilstrom
Debra Hilstrom is a nine-term State legislator from Brooklyn Center and prosecutor in the Anoka County Attorney’s office. She touts her record in taking on the bank lobby, standing up to credit card companies, taking a stand against corporate special interests, fighting for utility ratepayers, and protecting vulnerable adults and senior citizens.
Mike Rothman
Former Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman described his role as the State’s consumer watchdog. While Commissioner, he highlights his efforts to protect seniors from exploitation, fight the opioid epidemic, and conserve the State’s lakes. He is an advocate for renewable energy.
Tom Foley
Tom Foley served as a Ramsey County Attorney for sixteen years. Foley’s platform focuses on the opioid drug crisis, cybersecurity, safeguarding schools, environmental crimes, elderly abuse, and health care fraud. Foley is a former Vice Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Republican Candidates
Doug Wardlow (Endorsed Candidate)
Doug Wardlow is a former State Representative from Eagan. Wardlow promotes conservative values and seeks to safeguard religious freedom, defend Minnesotans’ right to keep and bear arms, defend the constitution, and ensure legal defense laws protect the lives of unborn children.
Robert Lessard
Bob Lessard served in the State Senate from 1977 to 2001 (he aligned himself with the Democratic party until 2001 when he switched to the Independence party). His messaging is centered around not using the Attorney General’s office as a political platform and advocating for wildlife conservation.
U.S. Senate
Senator Al Franken resigned from his seat last January in light of sexual harassment allegations. Governor Dayton appointed his then-Lieutenant Governor, Tina Smith, to the U.S. Senate. As an appointee, she must run for re-election in the first general election after her appointment.
Democratic Candidates
Tina Smith (Incumbent/ Endorsed Candidate)
Tina Smith, former Lieutenant Governor to Mark Dayton, serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. She has been a long-time champion of rural broadband funding and early childhood education. Smith supports clean energy research, extending the tax credits for renewable energy, and supporting biofuels. Addressing the effects of the opioid crisis on tribal communities and the lack of housing in Indian communities are two issues she is advocating. Smith also introduced legislation to allow tribes to have more control over how federal hunger programs are administered.
Richard Painter
Former Chief Ethics Counsel to President George W. Bush and University of Minnesota law professor, Richard Painter switched parties following the election of Donald Trump. He is running on an anti-corruption message. He opposes copper/nickel mining, supports tax credits to grow solar farms, and trade policy that promotes the clean energy sector.
1st Congressional District
Republican Candidates
Jim Hagedorn (Endorsed Candidate)
Jim Hagedorn served as a legislative assistant to former Congressman Stangland, and spent time as the Director for Legislative and Public Affairs for the Financial Management Service agency in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Hagedorn ran for the seat in 2016 and lost to Congressman Tim Walz by less than 3,000 votes. Hagedorn has focused on agriculture issues, regulatory and tax reform, gun rights, and anti-abortion issues.
Carla Nelson
Carla Nelson is a sitting Minnesota State Senator from Rochester in her 3rd term. While she did not received the GOP endorsement, she has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, which is important in the rural district. Nelson is focusing on balanced budget and fiscal responsibility, health care, and tax reform.
5th Congressional District (Open Seat)
The 5th Congressional District is reliably Democratic. Barring a major issue, the Democrat who wins the primary is a sure bet to win the general election.
Democratic Candidates
Ilhan Omar (Endorsed Candidate)
Ilhan Omar was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, becoming the first Somali and Muslim-American woman elected to office in the United States. As such, she received nationwide publicity. She has said she will focus on economic justice, education, criminal justice reform, Medicare for All, and a just immigration system.
Margaret Anderson-Keliher
Margaret Anderson-Keliher is a former state representative from Minneapolis. She served as the second female Speaker of the Minnesota House from 2007-2010. She is currently the President and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association, a technology non-profit that focuses on STEM education, workforce development, and jobs of the future. Her campaign platform centers on education, affordable housing, gun reform, Medicare for All, and jobs and infrastructure.
Patricia Torres-Ray
Patricia Torres-Ray was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2006, becoming the first Latina lawmaker in Minnesota. She studied law at the University of Nariño in Colombia and moved to Minnesota in 1987. Her early work in Minnesota focused on foster care placement with immigrant families. Her campaign has focused on education, immigration, climate change and pushing more renewable energy, and Medicare for All.
Jamal Abdulahi and Frank Drake (DFL) are also running in tomorrow’s primary. Abdulahi is a political newcomer with ties to the Somali community in Minneapolis. Drake has run for the seat in past elections
8th Congressional District (Open Seat)
The 8th Congressional district has been historically Democratic for much of the 20th and early part of the 21st century most likely due to the strong base of organized labor in the major industries in the district. However, the politics of the 8th have begun to shift and it is now a toss-up. President Trump won the 8th District with 54 percent of the vote. Congressman Rick Nolan (D) announced that he is retiring to run as the Lieutenant Governor on the Lori Swanson ticket. Additionally, Democratic activists left the endorsement convention with no endorsement as none of the candidates could get enough votes to get over the 60 percent threshold for an endorsement.
Democratic Candidates
Jason Metsa
Jason Metsa was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2012. He has proposed a “Northern New Deal” which would provide for debt-free higher education, Medicare for All, and economic reforms such as a $15 per hour minimum wage, a federal jobs guarantee, paid family leave, and collective bargaining rights.
Joe Radinovich
Joe Radinovich served one term in the Minnesota House from Representatives from 2013-2014. His campaign has focused on protecting collective bargaining rights, Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, child care costs, and protecting Social Security and Medicare.
Michelle Lee
Michelle Lee is a former news anchor with wide name recognition. While not a establishment politician, her name recognition and connection with voters during her decades in the media make her a contender. Her campaign focuses on rural broadband, Medicare for All, student debt, affordable education, and protecting Social Security and Medicare.
Kirsten Hagen Kennedy and Soren Christian Sorenson are also running in tomorrow’s primary. Kennedy is the mayor of North Branch, a city in the southern part of the congressional district. Sorenson is an activist focused on environmental issues.