Rep. Tom Emmer, of Delano, a Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota, said it's not enough to say government should find efficiencies, it should do it.

"Let's get back to basics," Emmer said during a stop in Marshall Friday.

Government "has grown so big is the no. 1 employer in Minnesota," Emmer said.

That's not a situation that creates job growth, reduces taxes and encourages businesses to stay in Minnesota, Emmer said. Emmer is one of nine Republicans, including Rep. Marty Seifert of Marshall running for governor.

Emmer gave a few examples of the out-of-whack government growth in the state.

Why does the state need a department of health and a department of health and human services and why does it need a human rights department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?

"We need to reform the structure of government," Emmer said.

Minnesota has too many regulations and bureaucratic hoops and high taxes that can drive businesses out of the state and keep new ones from moving in, Emmer said.

Two manufacturing companies left Luverne several years ago because of worker's compensation costs and other related issues, Emmer said.

Such incidents can be prevented if the size of government is reduced, taxes are lowered and Minnesota returns to a state that encourages business and industry growth, Emmer said.

Once the next governor of Minnesota reduces the size of government, the job will then be to actively recruit jobs to the state, Emmer said.

"We need businesses, businesses that bring good jobs," Emmer said. Minnesota needs more biomedical and technology jobs, Emmer said.

No candidate from the Democrats can do that because the candidates and the party are so focused on raising taxes and using government as the job source.

"I don't think you can call yourself a freedom-loving American and be a Democrat," Emmer said. "I don't think that's a grassroots Democrat who says now 'That's not what I voted for, this isn't the America I want.' It's the leaders of the Democrat party."

While Emmer said political pundits said the Republican Party was dead after the last presidential election, the ideals and principles of the party are not dead.

The principles of self-determination, the right to make decisions and the right to achieve will resonate with voters and are what the state needs to return to for growth and prosperity, Emmer said.

Emmer was elected to the Legislature in 2004 and described his district as rural.