Photo by Jody Issackson Karin Housley, a candidate for U.S. Senate, made a campaign stop in Marshall Monday.

MARSHALL — Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Karin Housley wants to get things done for Greater Minnesota. She claims her incumbent opponent, Tina Smith, has failed to do that.

“Tina Smith has done nothing constructive (in Washington, D.C.),” Housley said Monday during a campaign stop in Marshall.

“She’s been a puppet for (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer. She’s been screaming from the podium and her (record) has been extremely disappointing.”

Housley said she did not approve of the governor’s choice for Al Franken’s replacement as it did not even reflect the choice of the Democratic party.

“I think it’s disappointing that Governor (Mark) Dayton didn’t let his party speak on who they wanted to appoint to replace Al Franken,” Housley said. “I think I’m just running against resistance and what she didn’t do. Do you want results or more resistance?”

Housley originally got into politics to fight against the high income taxes Minnesotans pay. She said she had never been political until she was writing her income tax check and discovered she only had $4 left in her checking account. It made her question why she worked so hard only to break even.

For the past six years, Housley, as a Minnesota senator, has been working across the isle to get things done.

“I created an aging and long-term care committee to address the care of our elderly,” Housley said. “That had never been done before. I uncovered the failures of Tina Smith while she was in the lieutenant governor’s office. I had to clean up those failures to take care of the aged. I helped create more jobs, and I worked to fix Obamacare.”

Housley is running for congress because she knows the issues facing greater Minnesota and wants to work toward swift resolutions.

“Health care costs are a huge issue,” she said. “I heard that from farmers at Farmfest this summer. Health care costs have tripled. We need to focus all our energy on getting the market open which will drive the cost down.”

In spite of what her opponent may say about Housley’s stance on pre-existing conditions, Housley said, “I’m all about keeping those with pre-existing conditions covered.”

She also realizes the farm bill needs to be done by the end of December.

“I will continue to push that and get it done,” Housley said, adding that her opponent has failed to get it done.

“The most important thing is to continue the economic growth we’ve been working on,” she said. “President (Donald) Trump is doing his Promises Made, Promises Kept tour and putting farmers and foreign trade as a priority.

“With the USMCA (U.S., Mexico and Canada Agreement), which is good for dairy farmers, we are three-quarters of the way there,” Housley said. “We need to continue to push for China, which he (Trump) will.”

Another hot topic is immigration, Housley said.

“We still need to finish cleaning up immigration,” she said. “We have to cut the red tape to get those workers here for farmers.

“We’re not anti-immigrant. We just need welfare reform,” Housley said. “The second tier of immigration is putting a drain on our system, wreaking havoc at the state and county levels.”

Housley said she will be a new voice for Minnesota, a voice no one has heard in several years.

“I will represent farmers and greater Minnesota, not just the metro area, unlike the metro-centric liberal Tina Smith, who hasn’t even personally visited the rest of Minnesota,” Housley said. “(Smith) is part of the Swamp. Slowly, but surely we can drain it.”

Smith, however has been southwest Minnesota for Farmfest 2018 and she toured the flooded areas in early July.