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All candidates for Minnesota House of Representatives District 30A complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 19, 2022 at 2:43 PM

Both candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 30A — Sonja Buckmeir (D) and Walter Hudson (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. 

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Democratic Party controls Minnesota’s House of Representatives. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?            

Buckmeir:                   

“Public education. Schools are the beating heart of our communities. Investing in our students is investing in our community’s future. For our family, school was also a connection to friends and activities. I love our schools, and I am grateful for the excellent education they provide all students. I support Education Minnesota and its mission to give every student regardless of where they live, what they look like, where they pray, or who they love, a safe and welcoming school environment.”

Hudson:   

“Parents stand as the guardians of their children, both by nature and by moral right. The education and upbringing of children should be entirely governed by parents. Unfortunately, the compulsory nature of public education has enabled radical activists to coopt the system as a means to intervene and interfere in childrearing, seeking to spread perverse values though the classroom in defiance of parental wishes. We need to give parents 100% control of dollars going to education, restoring the proper relationship between parent and educator.”

Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading:



All candidates for Minnesota House of Representatives District 1A complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 19, 2022 at 2:38 PM

Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 1A — incumbent John Burkel (R) and James Sceville (D) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. 

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Democratic Party controls Minnesota’s House of Representatives. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? 

Burkel:                   

  • “Those priorities include tax relief for families struggling to pay the bills with inflation not seen in their lifetimes, NOT California Car mandates and emissions standards imposed on us through MPCA rulemaking.”
  • “Those priorities include fair funding for our nursing homes and rural schools, students and teachers, NOT bloated budgets for bureaucrats at the Minnesota Department of Education and Department of Human Services fostering fraud, corruption, and a lack of transparency.”
  • “Those rural values include respecting our friends and neighbors, supporting our law enforcement, and holding criminals accountable, NOT demoralizing those who protect and serve…creating a revolving door, catch and release crime wave in Minnesota.”

Sceville:   

  • “Defending Democracy means that everyone that is able to vote is able to vote. Mail in voting and early voting should be the standard in Minnesota along with traditional day of cast ballot.”
  • “Education reform doesn’t have to be drastic, but it does have to be effective. Paying our school staff a proper salary, providing incentives for keeping and hiring new rural teachers, creating a school supply trust fund from a cannabis tax, providing alternatives to traditional four year college. Small changes can make a large difference.”
  • “Affordable housing is one of the biggest barriers to entry for becoming an adult. Many children end up growing up and moving to places that they can afford causing brain drain in our already small rural community. We need to get rural development funded and our towns growing.”

Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading:



All candidates for Minnesota House of Representatives District 66A complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 19, 2022 at 2:35 PM

Both candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 66A — Leigh Finke (D) and Trace Johnson (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. 

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Democratic Party controls Minnesota’s House of Representatives. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? 

Finke:           

  • “Education and mental health care after COVID demand full attention and we must look forward, not back, to build a better future for our communities.”
  • “We must protect healthcare autonomy and abortion access for women and LGBTQ people”
  • “Expanding representation to all communities (including trans communities) benefits every voter.”

Johnson:       

  • “Fight Inflation, Reduce Taxes, and Fix the Economy”
  • “Rebuild Public Safety and Hold Criminals Accountable”
  • “Establish Excellent Schools and Empower Parents”

Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading:



Four candidates running for Minnesota state auditor on Nov. 8

By Ethan Rice
In 2022 elections
October 19, 2022 at 11:10 AM

Incumbent Julie Blaha (D), Ryan Wilson (R), Will Finn (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota), and Tim Davis (Legal Marijuana Now Party) are running for Minnesota state auditor on Nov. 8, 2022.

Blaha was elected state auditor in 2018. She served as the secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO and the president of Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota, a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. Blaha said she is “committed to protecting local solutions and providing resources to local governments” and “is running for re-election to ensure Minnesotans can continue to make decisions that benefit their communities.”

Wilson worked as an entrepreneur and attorney. He founded and was CEO of a Minnesota-based auditing firm in the medical device industry. Wilson said he “decided to run for State Auditor after recent reports of significant fraud in Minnesota’s safety-net programs and the gross mismanagement of large infrastructure projects, and a disturbing regression in government transparency and accountability that Minnesotans have witnessed in recent years.”

MinnPost’s Peter Callaghan said environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policy was a key issue in the race. “So far, the issue has emerged in only one statewide Minnesota race. As one of four members of the State Board of Investment, the state auditor helps set policy for how the $130 billion in state funds are invested,” Callaghan said.

According to the Minnesota State Board of Investment’s website, the board “serves the State of Minnesota by investing the assets of state and local employee benefit plans, other public retirement savings plans, tax advantaged savings plans, and non-retirement assets.” The board comprises the governor, who serves as chair, the state auditor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general.

Blaha said there were “significant risks and…significant opportunities in how climate is changing and how we’re transitioning energy. The evidence is overwhelming, and it’s also common sense. How many of us are sinking our savings into coal right now?” Wilson said the state should “let the chief investment officer and the manager they work with be unleashed to get the best-possible return. The chief investment officer doesn’t need the state board of investments to tell them to take classes of assets off the table. We don’t need a partisan thumb on the scale.”

In the 2018 election, Blaha defeated Pam Myhra (R) 49.4%-43.2%. Rebecca Otto (D) served as state auditor before Blaha, assuming office in 2006.



Minnesota congressional candidate dies Oct. 5; 2nd District election will still take place on Nov. 8

By Dave Beaudoin
In 2022 elections
October 10, 2022 at 11:11 AM

Paula Overby—the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District—died on Oct. 5. Axios Twin Cities reported that Overby died “following complications related to a failing heart valve.” That day, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said that the congressional election will proceed as scheduled on Nov. 8 and Overby’s name will still appear on the ballot.

This is the second time in as many election cycles that the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate running in Minnesota’s 2nd District died before the general election but after ballots had been printed. Adam Weeks died on Sept. 21, 2020, 43 days before the general election on Nov. 3, 2020. Minnesota originally postponed the election to Feb. 9, 2021, in accordance with a state law which moves elections to the second Tuesday in February if a major party nominee dies within 79 days of the original election date.

On Sept. 28, 2020, Rep. Angie Craig (D) filed a lawsuit challenging the election postponement, alleging it violated federal law, and on Oct. 9, 2020, federal district court Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright ruled that the election should be held in November as originally scheduled. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to suspend Wright’s decision on Oct. 23, 2020, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that ruling on Oct. 27, 2020.

In 2020, Weeks received 24, 751 votes, or 5.8% of the total cast in the 2nd District race, as Craig defeated Tyler Kistner (R), 48.2% to 45.9%. Craig and Kistner are both running in 2022 in a rematch of last cycle’s race.

Additional reading:

https://ballotpedia.org/Paula_Overby

https://ballotpedia.org/Minnesota%27s_2nd_Congressional_District_election,_2020

https://ballotpedia.org/Adam_Weeks_(Minnesota)



Minnesota Gov. Walz receives $6.3 million, with $8000 donations topping list

By Kalyn Stralow
In State
October 9, 2022 at 10:14 AM

In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, the governor received $6,310,606 in total contributions and spent $2,642,137 between Jan. 1, 2021 and July 18, 2022. Walz is running for re-election in 2022.

Gov. Walz is a member of the Democratic Party and first assumed office in 2019.

Contributions to Gov. Walz

Of the $6.3 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 1.2 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Gov. Walz (1/1/2021 – 7/25/2022)

RankTotal AmountDonor NameDonor Type
1.$8,000.00Brenda and Charles KratschINDIVIDUAL
2.$8,000.00IBEW Minn State Council PACENTITY
3.$8,000.00Justine and Robert E HaselowINDIVIDUAL
4.$8,000.00Ruth and Alvin J Huss JrINDIVIDUAL
5.$8,000.00Sara and Josh TuchschererINDIVIDUAL
6.$8,000.00Sara Kacey PohladINDIVIDUAL
7.$7,500.00Jon OlsonENTITY
8.$6,400.00Sita Kalpana DashINDIVIDUAL
9.$6,000.00Margaret J SkoldINDIVIDUAL
10.$4,600.00Jacob R JagdfeldINDIVIDUAL

Expenditures by Gov. Walz

On the expenditures side, Gov. Walz reported $2.6 million, with 72.6 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list. 

Top Expenditures by Gov. Walz (1/1/2021 – 7/25/2022)

RankTotal AmountPayee NamePayee Type
1.$885,517.44Cleansweep CampaignsENTITY
2.$290,883.98McCool Digital LLCENTITY
3.$142,683.21Internal Revenue ServicesENTITY
4.$127,058.99Nichole JohnsonINDIVIDUAL
5.$101,026.61Vantiv LLCENTITY
6.$90,000.00Blg Strategies LLCENTITY
7.$87,220.00Run the WorldENTITY
8.$69,974.45Edwin TorresINDIVIDUAL
9.$65,237.93Haley CobbINDIVIDUAL
10.$60,150.00Ngp Van IncENTITY

How Gov. Walz’s fundraising compares to other governors

Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Minnesota Gov. Walz compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:

Fundraising reported by 11 U.S. governors in the 2022 election cycle

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Minnesota PACs submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Name of ReportReporting PeriodDeadline
2022 January Annual1/1/21 – 12/31/211/31/2022
Pre-Primary1/1/22 – 7/18/227/25/2022
Pre-General1/1/22 – 10/24/2210/31/2022
2023 January Annual1/1/22 – 12/31/221/31/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.



All candidates for Minnesota State Senate District 4 complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 7, 2022 at 7:00 AM

Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota State Senate District 4 — Rob Kupec (D) and Dan Bohmer (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. 

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Republican Party controls the senate in Minnesota’s state legislature. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Kupec:   

  • “Ensure that all children have access to quality education from pre-K to college.”
  • “Increase access to quality health care in rural communities to help seniors stay in their homes and ensure our small towns thrive.”
  • “Protect family farms, which are vital to our economy and food systems.”

Bohmer:       

  • “We must address the high taxes we face.”
  • “Public safety is critical”
  • “We need to reign in the bureaucratic overreach we faced over the past 2+ years”

Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading:

Minnesota State Senate elections, 2022



The top 10 Minnesota candidates raised 52 percent of all donations

By Kalyn Stralow
In State
October 5, 2022 at 2:49 PM

In Minnesota politics, state-level candidates and officeholders raised $26.6 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and July 18, 2022. More than $13.9 million, or 52 percent, of all donations reported by candidate committees were raised by the 10 individuals at the top of the list.

Top 10 Minnesota candidates (1/1/2021 – 7/18/2022)

Here are the 10 Minnesota candidates and officeholders who have raised the most money so far in the 2022 election cycle, according to campaign finance reports submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board:

Rank Candidate/Officeholder Name Total Donations
1 Tim Walz $6,310,606
2 Scott Jensen $2,258,474
3 Dennis J Smith $1,021,833
4 Keith Ellison $935,587
5 Steve Simon $808,394
6 Paul Gazelka $693,381
7 Kendall Qualls $678,494
8 Doug Wardlow $463,366
9 James Schultz $409,263
10 Michelle R Benson $305,876

The list of Minnesota candidates and officeholders includes anyone with a candidate PAC that filed campaign finance reports during this time period, which may include former candidates or current officeholders who are not running in this cycle. PACs not associated with a candidate are not included in the values above.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Minnesota PACs submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies.

Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports. Data from additional reports due in between the deadlines below are published along with the reports listed here.

Report Name Report Due Date
2022 Jan Annual 1/31/2022
2022 Q1 4/14/2022
2022 Q2 6/14/2022
2022 Jul Semiannual 7/25/2022
2022 Q3 9/27/2022
2022 Q4 10/31/2022
2022 Jan Annual 1/31/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.



All candidates for Minnesota State Senate District 41 complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 3, 2022 at 3:51 PM

Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota State Senate District 41 — Judy Seeberger (D) and Tom Dippel (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. 

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Republican Party controls the State Senate in Minnesota’s state legislature, and the Democratic Party controls the House of Representatives. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?            

Seeberger:       

  • “My top priority is to fight for an economy that works for Minnesotans.”
  • “I am running to ensure that SD 41 has safe neighborhoods and thriving communities. As a paramedic, I work on the front lines of public safety and see first-hand the impact crime has on individuals, families and communities.”
  • “I will always fight to protect women’s right to choose. Government has no place in private conversations between patients and doctors.”

Dippel:               

  • “We must fix our broken economy. This means lower taxes and less regulations on business.”
  • “Crime is a problem that must be addressed. We need to support our law enforcement and bolster our criminal justice system.”
  • “Education has been overwhelmed by social experiments. We need to get back to the fundamentals of education – reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.”

Click on candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading:



All candidates for Minnesota House of Representatives District 10B complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

By Ballotpedia staff
In 2022 elections
October 3, 2022 at 3:48 PM

Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 10B — Hunter Froelich (D) and Isaac Schultz (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.

Eighty-eight of the country’s 99 state legislative chambers will hold regularly scheduled elections in 2022. The Democratic Party controls the House of Representatives in Minnesota’s state legislature and the Republican Party controls the State Senate. Minnesota is one of 13 states with a divided government.

Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Froelich:           

  • “Individual rights need to be expanded. End the war on drugs, and end all gun legislation.”
  • “We need to end political immunity. Politicians and the rich believe to be above the law, because currently, they are. I will end this. I want to see a world where the prisons are filled with them, because if our justice system worked, they would be.”
  • “Allocation of money, especially taxpayer dollars, is absolutely ridiculous. We don’t need to increase taxes, we need to allocate it correctly. Our current spending is negligent in every possible way. I will fix this or die trying.”

Schultz:           

  • “I believe in life from conception to natural death. From a young age, I have joined millions of Americans at the annual March for Life on January 22.”
  • “As a constitutional conservative, I support the rights of law abiding gun owners to keep and bear arms. I wholeheartedly support the 2nd Amendment and will push for Stand Your Ground, Castle Doctrine, and Constitutional Carry to defend your family and your home.”
  • “Make Minnesota More Affordable. Minnesota has one of the highest tax rates in the nation both for individuals and employers.”

Click on candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.

Additional reading: