Candidate Profiles: Statewide Races

These are statewide races, meaning all voters in Minnesota will be voting in these races.

See the responses to our candidate questionnaire for these races here.

*Denotes incumbent

Governor & Lieutenant Governor

Gabrielle Prosser and Kevin Dwire

Party: Socialist Workers

Policy Stances:

• No information could be found online

Hugh McTavish and Mike Winter

Party: Independence-Alliance

Policy Stances:

• COVID-19 Safety
  • I oppose all mandatory restrictions.

• Environment
  • Sharing the lands and waters of our state with nature and other species by converting 50% of our land to nature and wilderness.

• Guns
  • I support common sense gun control

• Public Safety
  • Ending mandatory arbitration for police officer firings and discipline

• Reproductive Justice
  • I am pro-choice. I would introduce a bill to make Roe v. Wade the law in Minnesota to a jury

• Voting Rights
  • Jury Democracy is an improvement on traditional elected representative democracy.

James McCaskel and David Sandbeck

Party: Legal Marijuana Now

Policy Stances:

• Public Safety
  • It is not my belief that defunding the police would also solve the problem. Trust must be built between the police and community to resolve this issue.

• Reproductive Justice
  • Abortion and contraception are essential to the health of women. It is vital for women in Minnesota to have access to health care that is safe and reliable.

Scott Jensen and Matt Birk

Party: Republican

Policy Stances:

• COVID-19 Safety
  • Never Let Lockdowns Happen Again
• Ethnic Studies
  • It is time to ban Critical Race Theory based standards
• Environment
  • Lift the moratorium on the ability to build any additional nuclear plants. Include support to unleashing the economy in northeastern Minnesota by permitting copper-nickel and other mining facilities that have properly followed the strict environmental regulatory processes required under Minnesota law.
• Guns
  • Dr. Jensen believes in the constitutional right of every law-abiding citizen to protect themselves and their family.
• Public Safety
  • Issue an executive order to deploy state patrol officers to supplement local law enforcement needs in high crime areas. Bring in job training, literacy and skills training in the Department of Corrections
• Reproductive Justice
  • Increase funding for Crisis Pregnancy Centers Enact legislation that requires parental notification for minors undergoing abortions

Steve Patterson and Matt Huff

Party: Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis

Policy Stances:

• Guns
  • If elected, I plan to change Minnesota to a Castle Doctrine state, which means that we as Minnesota citizens would have the right to defend ourselves, our families, and our possessions against uninvited intruders by using violence up to and including deadly force while on your own property.
• Reproductive Justice
  • I am pro choice because similar to my stance on everything else I think we should have the right to control our own bodies.

Tim Walz* and Peggy Flanagan*

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Policy Stances:

• Environment
  • Pushing for 100% of Minnesota’s electricity to come from renewable energy by the year 2040. Their new environmental initiative will bring more fuel-efficient cars to Minnesota
• Public Safety
  • Their last two budgets provided investments in new violence prevention programs, funding to ensure law enforcement wear body cameras, limits on no-knock warrants, and bans on chokeholds and “warrior-style” training. Tim and Peggy are committed to creating safer communities for all Minnesotans and ​​advancing police reform without defunding or abolishing the police.
• Reproductive Justice
  • An abortion ban will never become law on their watch. They will protect abortion rights and access by refusing to appoint judges who opposes a woman’s right to choose. The day after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Tim and Peggy issued an executive order that allows their administration to use all legal discretion to decline to extradite people who are charged under other states’ laws that criminalize providing, seeking, or obtaining an abortion.

Secretary of State

Kim Crockett

Party: Republican

Policy Stances:

• Voting Rights
  • Kim will work with the legislature to pass common sense reforms to protect the choice of eligible voters Require election judges to accept/reject all absentee ballots. Reverse mail ballot trend in Greater Minnesota. Reduce 46-day “early voting” season. Oppose the expansion of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV)

Steve Simon*

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor

• Voting Rights
  • He served as Chair of the House Elections Committee and helped lead the fight against the harsh Voter ID amendment that would have made Minnesota the most restrictive state in the country. Steve authored the groundbreaking “No-Excuses” Absentee Voting law, which allows Minnesotans to vote from the comfort of their own home for any reason. He also authored the law that now allows online voter registration in Minnesota.

Attorney General

Jim Schultz

Party: Republican

• Public Safety
  • Ensure safe and secure communities by prioritizing public safety, supporting and funding the police, and prosecuting criminals.

Keith Ellison*

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Policy Stances:

• COVID-19 Safety
  • My office successfully defended in court the legality and constitutionality of the Governor’s COVID-10 peacetime emergency and the executive orders
• Environment
  • My office moved aggressively with State agencies to protect workers from lead poisoning at a suburban facility
• Guns
  • I have intervened in federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to uphold sensible laws from several other states
• LGBTQ+ Rights
  • I joined attorneys general from around the country in successfully arguing at the U.S. Supreme Court that LGBTQ people are protected from workplace discrimination under federal civil rights law.
• Public Safety
  • Commissioner of Public Safety and I convened a working group from the criminal-justice system, philanthropy, academia, and community to determine how to reduce deadly-force encounters with law enforcement.
• Reproductive Justice
  • I have fought throughout my term as attorney general for the constitutional right to reproductive health care, including access to abortion care.
• Voting Rights
  • During the 2020 election, I worked with the Secretary of State to ensure every eligible voter in Minnesota had equal and fair access to the ballot box

State Auditor

Julie Blaha*

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Policy Stances:

• Environment
  • Auditor Blaha has been a leader in ensuring that the risks and opportunities resulting from energy transition due to climate change are accurately reflected in Minnesota’s investment decisions.
• Public Safety
  • Promoting forfeiture reform that reduces disparities in treatment during arrests.
• Reproductive Justice
  • Auditor Blaha will protect the OSA’s oversight or data be used to spread misinformation or block local communities ability to provide their residents full access to health care.

Ryan Wilson

Party: Republican

Policy Stances:

• No selected policy areas were addressed

Tim Davis

Party: Legal Marijuana Now

Policy Stances:

• Environment
  • Alternative Energy & Resources

Will Finn

Party: Grassroots – Legalize Cannabis

Policy Stances:

• No information could be found online