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GHENT -- Minnesota voters are looking for change, candidates for state office said at a Lyon County Republican dinner this week.
"This is Minnesota's year," said Ron Schutz, the GOP candidate for Minnesota Attorney General. "People are fed up with what's going on and are looking for a change. And I think change is coming."
"We sure need a change in St. Paul. We need a clean sweep," said Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Tad Jude.
Schutz and Jude were among the speakers Monday at the Lyon County Republicans' fall fundraising dinner Monday in Ghent. The event included video messages from other statewide candidates, and remarks from state House candidate Brad Hennen and state Senate candidate Braxton Seifert.
Jude has served in the Minnesota Legislature, on the Hennepin County Board, and as a Minnesota District Court judge.
Jude said Minnesota's state government had "really lost touch" with mainstream Minnesotans.
"I see that in the secretary of state's office," and with current Secretary of State Steve Simon, Jude said. "Our secretary of state has been there for 12 years, and he refuses to work with the federal government to clean up our voting rolls."
Jude also criticized Simon for his role in cases like the city of Oak Grove's decision to use paper voter rosters instead of electronic rosters.
"It just shows that the secretary of state is trying to insert himself so far into the minutia of voting, where he basically controls every aspect of voting," he said.
"I'm running to bring openness and transparency and fairness to the election process. We need an even playing field," Jude said.
Jude also said the secretary of state had other important roles, including the licensure of businesses and nonprofits.
"We've had a fraud tourism problem, where people come here not only from other states, they come here from other countries to take advantage of the taxpayer," Jude said. "We have to shut that down."
Schutz grew up on a dairy farm near Adrian, and had a career as a trial attorney and chairman of a national law firm before running for Minnesota attorney general.
"I looked around at what was happening, and I said that somebody has got to step up, take on Keith Ellison," Schutz said.
In his remarks at the dinner, Schutz focused on countering claims made in Ellison's campaign for attorney general.
"He's going to argue that he makes life affordable for Minnesotans," Schutz said. Schutz said that claim was "preposterous." "To the extent that Minnesotans are feeling an economic pinch, or their life's not affordable, just ask this question: who has been in charge of state government for the last 20 years? It's the Democrats," Schutz said.
"Keith Ellison also likes to claim he's a fraud fighter," Schutz said. "He hasn't been doing a very good job of it, if he's a fraud fighter."
Schutz referred to an investigation by KSTP News that found that since 2019, only $3 million in restitution for Medicaid fraud has been collected by the state.
"(Ellison) claims to have recovered $90 million on behalf of Minnesota taxpayers," Schutz said.
Hennen and Seifert also talked about the need for change in state government.
"We have been creeping toward a point of no return on government overreach. All of us are becoming complacent about state regulation of our daily activities," Hennen said.
He said regulation has had an impact on everything from health care to energy production and education. In the health care industry, Hennen said, "At both the state and the federal level, the government has been regulating the provision of care for people in every aspect."
Hennen said Minnesota should work to focus on solutions that would help create more insurance options, and allow health care providers to increase their productivity, whether through more cross-training or telemedicine options.
Hennen said the state could also ease regulatory burdens on new housing development, education and child care providers, and allow production of all types of energy.
"We should not look to regulate. We should look to foster growth and freedom," Hennen said.
Seifert said he wanted to work to reverse trends that were causing young people to move out of Minnesota for opportunities in neighboring states.
Seifert contrasted Minnesota's current tax and budget status with that under Tim Pawlenty, the state's last Republican governor.
"Under the last Republican governor, he inherited a $4.6 billion budget deficit, and he balanced that budget without raising a penny in taxes. Meanwhile, Tim Walz and the Democratic trifecta had a $17 billion surplus, and instead of paying for local infrastructure, instead of cutting your taxes or giving the money back, they spent that surplus, and then they raised taxes another $9 billion. It’s unacceptable," he said.
Seifert said Minnesota has also seen declines in schools and public safety, as well as the impact of $9 billion in fraud in the state. That same amount of money, he said, "Could get you $10,000 added to the per-pupil allotment with our public education system. We could eliminate all the license tab fees on all of the vehicles in the state of Minnesota for nine years."
"We've got to put that perspective to the voters. They've got to understand that this has cost people real dollars," Seifert said. "Until we downsize, right-size, and economize our state government, we will never fully end the fraud that's going on in our state."
"This election is really about the soul of Minnesota, and the soul of the country," Schutz said. He called on Republicans to work hard to spread that message to voters.