Conservatives in Minnesota are fed up with rampant fraud and out of control spending. In response, RINO State Senators are anxious to give MN more debt by funding politicians’ pet projects in the bonding bill. Hypocrite RINO legislators tell their Republican constituents that they are going to cut spending and fight fraud when they just sit on their hands and vote for corrupt omnibus bills.

As seen on the MN Senate GOP website, three RINO Senators have posted articles/press releases about the upcoming special session that show just how out of step they are with the average conservative. As seen in previous A4L reporting, the 2026 legislative session will start on Tuesday, February 17th and the competing interests between the Establishment and the Grassroots should be on full display.

RINO Sen. Paul Utke (SD5) was the first GOP Senator to post about the 2026 legislative session on the Senate GOP website and within the first paragraph, it is clear Utke has been successfully propagandized by the St. Paul Swamp. Utke states “in each biennium we have a budget year and a bonding year” and says “the legislature’s main focus will be putting together a bonding bill”. This is totally false!

The legislature is under NO obligation to pass a debt-ridden omnibus bonding bill! Unlike the state budget appropriations passed in odd-numbered years, a bonding bill is not required to pass. MN didn't even have legislators meet in even-numbered legislative years until 1973 and the additional session was intended to allow lawmakers to finish unfinished business, make technical corrections, or respond to emergencies, NOT to give the state more debt!

Keep in mind, the MN legislature ALREADY passed a $700M debt (bonding) bill and it stretched the limits of MN’s bond rating. While some local project funding is uncontroversial, a large bonding bill is completely unnecessary. MN taxpayers would benefit much more from having their surplus dollars returned to them.

Bonding bills are a tool for Uniparty politicians to take credit for local project funding and use it for campaign purposes. Utke goes on to complain about runaway spending in MN despite the fact that he is advocating for more runaway spending and debt! Utke has announced he is running for reelection in 2026 and will face Rep. Mike Wiener (5B) for the GOP endorsement, which Utke was unable to capture in 2022 against Bret Bussman. 

A day or two after Utke’s nonsense statement was posted, Sen. Steve Green (SD2) posted the same garbage! In some paragraphs, the statements are word for word the exact same! Green should not complain about out of control spending if he is not committed to actually fighting it! Supporting the passage of massive debt for our state is not fiscally conservative, it is extremely liberal.

RINO Senators Jason Rarick (SD11) and Gene Dornink (SD23) rounded out the RINOs on the MN Senate GOP website hypocritically promoting a debt bill while simultaneously complaining about fraud and spending. Rarick even argues that the legislature won’t accomplish much besides passing a bonding bill. It sounds like Rarick has given up before they’ve even gaveled in.

Of course, Utke, Green, Dornink, and Rarick are not the only RINO legislators that may vote for a corrupt debt bill. As seen in previous A4L reporting, only 10 of 33 GOP Senators and 15 of 67 GOP Representatives voted against the $700M debt bill last year. The vast majority of GOP legislators are backstabbing the constituents who put them in power. This is not to mention that GOP leadership cemented $14B in bloated Democrat spending by passing the 2nd LARGEST budget in MN history last year.

Unlike the RINOs' statements on the upcoming legislative session, the message Sen. Bill Lieske (SD58) conveyed on the Senate GOP website lists fraud, affordability, high taxes, and transparency as legislative focuses. Lieske doesn't even mention bonding in his statement and seems to be aligned with the grassroots to shrink the size and scope of our government.

Minnesotans are over-taxed and are sick of the excuses from Uniparty politicians. Instead of putting our state in debt, legislators could return the over $6.2B surplus to taxpayers, who could receive around $2,500 each! The GOP controls the House and legislation cannot pass without their support, if they hold strong (specifically Speaker Lisa Demuth), they can BLOCK more debt for our state!

Action 4 Liberty will continue serving as the megaphone of the grassroots and will never concede an inch on principle. A4L brings Patriots hard-hitting, anti-establishment, liberty-based reporting that cannot be found anywhere else and we will never waiver in our mission to protect liberty for the next generation. Liberty is not protected when your tax dollars are not protected.