Republicans in Senate District 26 held their endorsing convention on Saturday, choosing to endorse candidates for house districts 26A and 26B. In a surprise move, 16-term (32 years!) Representative Greg Davids lost the Republican Endorsement for Reelection.

His challenger was longtime party activist, Gary Steuart. With the Republican Endorsement, he now has access to party data and funds. This is a safe Republican district, so the real election could occur in a primary should Davids continue his campaign.

Greg refused to provide a straight answer when asked if he’d abide by the endorsement but he closed his concession speech saying “see you in August” indicating he doesn’t plan to honor the delegate's endorsement.

In 2022, Davids was the Republican Endorsed candidate. When he was challenged in a primary, he told his challenger - Laura Thorson - that it was "improper" to challenge an endorsed candidate. Now that he lost the endorsement, he seems to be conducting "improper" behavior.

According to the Action 4 Liberty scorecard, Greg Davids has a lifetime liberty score of 49% – a failing grade! It seems clear that the people of 26B demanded a more conservative representative.

Only time will tell if Steuart is a better legislator. One thing is certain, though – new blood is needed at the Capitol! After 32 years in St. Paul, it’s clear that Davids stayed past his welcome.

Republicans in House District 10A held their endorsing convention on Saturday. Six-term incumbent representative Ron Kresha was challenged by political newcomer Diane Webb-Skillings. After several rounds of voting, delegates voted to not endorse either candidate, meaning that the nominee will be decided in a primary election.

The Republican endorsement is made by elected delegates at the BPOU level and comes with party backing, funds, and lists. Instead of a top-down nomination process, local Republicans who work real jobs can make their voice heard.

Webb-Skillings, an accountant and farmer from Aitkin, challenged Kresha for the Republican Endorsement. Forcing an incumbent representative to lose his endorsement is no small feat. In 2022, Kresha also failed to secure the Republican Endorsement.

In fact, Kresha lost the Republican endorsement in 2022 even after the establishment leaders in the BPOU tried to help him. After the first round of ballots were cast, it took three hours for the BPOU to count them. It's very possible that they knew Kresha would lose, so they stalled as long as they could. Delegates eventually gave up and the convention adjourned with no endorsement.

But why is Ron Kresha so bad? Why does the establishment need to work so hard to save his reelection bids?

In 2021, Kresha worked with Democrats to introduce HF 2409, a bill that would give $5 million for granting legal status to illegal immigrants. With unprecedented levels of immigration on the southern border, this issue resonated with delegates and led them to reject their incumbent representative.

In a speech to delegates, Kresha was also forced to explain his vote that condemned the January 6th protestors. Delegates were referencing HR 1 in 2021, which can be read here. He falsely claimed that all Republicans voted for the resolution, when Representatives Backer, Bahr, Drazkowski, Green, Grossell, Heinrich, Mekeland, and Mortensen all voted against it. In addition, Bahr and Drazkowski endorsed Kresha's opponent, Webb-Skillings.

The Republican nominee will be determined by a primary election, which will take place on August 13th. The nominee will be nearly guaranteed to win in November. Ron Kresha ran unopposed in 2022 and won with 77% of the vote in 2020.

Yes you read that right, the MNGOP's state account has only $57K following the first quarter of 2024 according to their latest CFB report filed by MNGOP treasurer Lee Prinkkila. This is peanuts compared to the Democrat stockpile of $1.4M. This latest embarrassment is further proof that the party is out of touch with grassroots conservatives. Additionally, the MNGOP raised only $70 in small dollar donations! See them listed as "non-itemized" below:

The Campaign Finance Board (CFB) oversees political campaign and party reporting in Minnesota. The CFB requires that party units record any donation over $20 with the donor’s name, address, donation date, and amount. If over $200, the party must also record the donor’s employment/occupation. See page 20 of the CFB Party Unit handbook here. 

The MNGOP did raise $60K in reportable donations, however, this amount of money only came from FOUR people! This means that you could probably count on two hands how many people donated to the MNGOP in the first Quarter. See below:

The MNGOP currently sits with a little over $57K in their state account with over $100K in debt. In comparison, the Democrats have over $1.4 Million in their State Central Committee report! This is not even factoring in the $2.7 Million in the DFL House and Senate Caucuses combined! The GOP House and Senate units, HRCC and SVF, combined have over $2.1M. See all Q1 party unit reports here.

The MNGOP leadership would rebut this article by suggesting that they have hundreds of thousands of dollars in their federal account (which they pay their salaries from). This is partially true because their federal account does have over $300K in cash on hand but it is over $370K in debt! Not only is the federal account also struggling, but zero dollars from those funds can be spent to defeat the Democrat trifecta in Minnesota since the money can only be spent on federal races. More information on their federal account can be found here.

The Democrats operate like machinery in steamrolling their agenda through. It is a shame to see Ken Martin lack worthy competitors in the MNGOP leadership. The MNGOP is desperate for money and, as we recently reported, is raising the prices on delegates and alternates at the state convention and state central meeting. Delegates should prepare for a long, grandstanding lecture about how it is actually YOUR fault that the MNGOP fundraising is doing so poorly. David Hann even sent out a fundraising letter that said to re-elect Michelle Fischbach, despite Steve Boyd and Annette Watson challenging Fischbach for the GOP Endorsement in CD7. Party leaders are supposed to be neutral pre-Endorsement!

To make matters even worse, David Hann and others in the MNGOP leadership are wasting their resources on costly lawyers, some of whom have falsely targeted and attacked Action 4 Liberty. Instead of paying off convention event centers and other debts they are seemingly delinquent to, the priority is always to have just enough to pay David Hann and his puppet lawyers. See the full party debt below:

To claim that the MNGOP leadership is failing conservatives would be the understatement of the year. It is clear that the grassroots is rallying and unifying behind President Trump’s campaign but they refuse to donate to the state party. While Hann and others might argue that the lack of donations is because of inflation and financial struggles, the argument holds no weight when compared to the Democratic Party’s stockpile. David Hann is clearly not the man for the job because the grassroots does not trust to give him money, in some part due to his past anti-Trump comments.

Despite the constant failures of the MNGOP, Republicans remain competitive off of the backs of greater Minnesota voters. The State Senate is one seat away from GOP control in spite of the disaster leadership. Conservatives feel betrayed by the MNGOP, especially in Otter Tail County, and put their dollars into campaigns and organizations they can trust. If the MNGOP wants to make our state competitive for President Trump and State House Republicans, they need to embrace the America First/MAGA agenda that the grassroots is clamoring for. Caving to Democrats has gotten Republicans to this point, will anything change? That’s up to the delegates.

See other A4L reporting on MNGOP party debt in July 2023 here and Dec 2023 here.

Over the weekend, Minnesota Democrats in House District 12B unanimously endorsed Judd Hoff for state house. Hoff is a violent and controversial figure who has been convicted of multiple crimes. He has also been accused of stalking his Republican opponent, Mary Franson.

Hoff went as far as moving across the street from Franson and digging through her trash. Here is a total list of his crimes:

• Felony Second Degree Assault in 2020
• Damage to Property in  2020
• Disorderly Conduct in 2019
• Criminal Disorderly Conduct in 2013
• Criminal Damage to Property in 2001
• Criminal Damage to Property in 1997

Representative Franson is known for being a loud voice in the Minnesota House. Notably, she refused to sign onto the Never Again Bill and Articles of Impeachment against Tim Walz in 2021. She also has a habit of voting for unreadable omnibus bills. Otherwise, she has a generally conservative record.

A unanimous endorsement of such a vile criminal is not surprising. The Minnesota Democrat Party has made a name for itself by propping up violent criminals. Minnesota Democrat Chair Ken Martin only issued a statement condemning the actions of the individual after the endorsement went viral on social media.

Democrats are collecting a lot of baggage in an election year. With all 134 seats in the Minnesota House on the ballot, voters may announce loud and clear that they have had enough of the craziness.

As of writing, the Democrats in District 12B have yet to revoke their endorsement of Hoff.

Reselling tickets is a relatively large market, especially in Minnesota. Not only does our state have a lot of sports teams, but there is a clear and present performance and concert environment. This means that ticket resellers like Stub Hub, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster have a large presence here. With a new bill moving through the legislature, that could change.

Democrat Representative Kelly Moller first introduced her bill (HF 1989) to regulate ticket resellers in 2023. This year, it appears to be getting more traction – passing through the house on a vote of 112-18. In Moller’s address to the Minnesota House, she states that she spoke with many sports teams across the state about to how to address issues with “fees” and “scalpers.”

Here’s what Moller’s bill would accomplish. 

• Prohibit buying tickets on behalf of another person.
• Mandate disclosures on existing reseller websites.
• Prohibit large amounts of tickets from being purchased, regulated by the Department of Commerce.
• Heavily regulate resale values for tickets.

Nobody likes buying marked up tickets, especially for popular concerts or teams. Moller repeatedly mentioned her love for Taylor Swift’s music on the House floor. However, this is not a reason to regulate the resale business out of existence.

In a free market system, sales are driven by demand. If there is a higher demand for tickets, there will be a higher price for those same tickets. Imagine this scenario: You buy tickets to a concert for your whole family – but later find out you cannot go – you may have a harder time reselling those tickets through a traditional vendor – God forbid you hope to make some money off of the sale.

Legislators in St. Paul are constantly in search of problems for their big government solution. More regulations will not help the ticket industry, but will instead make it much worse.

On an early afternoon Saturday, April 13th, House District 58B delegates met in Farmington to endorse a candidate for the State House of Representatives. Incumbent Rep. Pat Garafalo previously announced that he would not seek re-election in 2024. 

Patriot Drew Roach faced off against candidate Sean McKnight as around 85 delegates considered their arguments. Following the CD/State delegate elections and State House candidate speeches, Drew Roach received a dominant 77% of the vote on the first ballot! 

Drew’s mother Deb gave the introduction speech for her son and showed that room that a love for liberty runs in the family! Drew discussed with delegates who he is, the importance of the endorsement process, his small business, his plans to maintain our Constitutional Republic, and the fight he will take to St. Paul! Drew is also a father and understands the battles ahead for younger generations.

Drew was endorsed by Senators Steve Drazkowski and Nathan Wesenberg as well as former Representative Jeremy Munson. Following the convention, Senator Bill Lieske and Rep. Pat Garafolo have officially endorsed Drew’s campaign.

District 58B is a very conservative district that heavily leans red. This means that the Republican nominee will have a high likelihood of winning the district. Because of this, Roach stressed the fact that he will help conservatives in other districts to give Republicans a long-awaited majority in the State House. Roach’s strategic thinking was well received by delegates.

Drew Roach has been attacked by the mainstream, establishment media in our state, making it clear that they see him as a threat to the status quo! They understand that Roach shouldn’t be under-estimated and is a fighter who will never back down. Drew has shown that he will not tolerate corruption and that is a very rare quality in candidates. 

Congratulations to Drew and his family on his massive win! With the endorsement and consolidating GOP support, Drew is well on his way to the State House to be a Champion for freedom! Patriots can keep up with Drew’s campaign on Facebook and X.

Senator Jordan Rasmussen (R-Fergus Falls) has refused to back the disenfranchised Republican Otter Tail County delegates. After GOP Chair Dave Hann unilaterally unseated the duly elected 2024 precinct caucus delegates, dozens of state legislators and hundreds of activists have come to their defense. Rasmussen, who lives in Otter Tail County, has kept quiet.

Rasmussen has benefitted from the swampy operations of the Otter Tail County Republican BPOU. In 2023, the BPOU unseated 33 Republican delegates because they were accused of supporting a conservative write-in candidate who ran against Rasmussen, Nathan Miller. 

This year, it looks like the BPOU has coordinated with the state GOP to unseat an estimated 100 delegates elected on caucus night. GOP Chair Hann alleges that the process was incorrectly conducted, despite evidence of the contrary.

This is an effort to punish grassroots delegates who want to get involved in the Republican Party process. While Senator Rasmussen is not up for re-election this year, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach is – and she faces an endorsement challenge. Read about that here.

Dozens of GOP legislators have called out this election meddling, including representatives Mary Franson and Tom Murphy who represent districts 9A and 9B in Otter Tail County. Senator Rasmussen’s silence sticks out like a sore thumb.

The Republican Party leadership cannot pick and choose its winners and losers. They also cannot punish voters for their actions. Both the activists and the politicians have united in their opposition to the delegate election meddling in Otter Tail County. Only Senator Rasmussen, Congresswoman Fischbach, and Chair Dave Hann appear to benefit. They must now to the right thing and call for the reinstatement of the 2024 delegates.

Grassroots conservatives across our state are having their wallets stretched thin with Biden’s inflation and the rising cost of living. Minnesota has become more and more unaffordable as politicians continue to grow the budget and waste the overtaxed surplus dollars. 

Now, when Minnesota citizens could use a break from ridiculous fees, the MNGOP has implemented high costs to attend their State Convention and State Central Convention. The (1)State Convention cost is $150 or $175 at the door! The (2)State Central Meeting taking place the day before costs $75 or $100 at the door! This applies to both delegates and alternates in each case. See below:

(1)

(2)

This is up from the $65-$85 State Central fees in December 2023 and the 2022 State Convention which cost $110. This is price gouging at its finest! Consider that many delegates and alternates will be required to get a hotel during this time too!

The MNGOP also incentivizes credit cards over cash and checks as seen above. They will not accept cash and checks until the day of registration so people will be forced to pay the higher rate EVEN if they want to pay ahead of time! What does the MNGOP have against tangible monetary exchanges? 

This is an attempt to price out common people from their civic duty and Right to vote. Establishment, social-club RINOs are the only people that MNGOP Chair David Hann is interested in having attend their meetings. Perhaps this is an attempt to get the MNGOP out of deep debt and financial ruin. Or this is an attempt to force out new delegates from voting in the US Senate or RNC Committeeman races? Both of which are currently contended.

MN Democrats prohibit fees for National Convention delegates but the MNGOP charges $1000. MN Democrats are charging $150 for delegates and $75 for alternates to their State Convention (Coronation) for Biden and Klobuchar.

The MNGOP State Executive Committee should take immediate action to lower the fees so common people can afford to participate and exercise their Right to vote. 

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” The MNGOP is imposing a poll tax on conservatives and that un-American practice should be ended.

Grassroots conservatives know not to give the MNGOP their hard earned dollars and instead to support candidates and organizations who represent their values. This price gouging is simply the latest evidence that the only use for conservatives in the party is their money.

MN Democrats in the state Legislature have shown themselves to be bad faith actors who will manipulate and twist the power of government whenever they see it as beneficial for their agenda. There is zero principle within the Democratic caucus, in either chamber, except the principle of obtaining and retaining political power.

In their latest attempt to destroy Minnesota, Democrats unanimously passed the Omnibus Labor and Industry policy bill SF3852. This bill which raised the minimum wage by increasing the inflation index cap from 2.5% to 5%. This means that the further the federal government devalues our dollar with mass debt, mass spending, and mass printing, the higher the minimum wage will be in Minnesota. Underlined words are new law and struck out words are laws that are removed. See below:

It is important to note that there are no carve outs or exceptions for small or medium sized businesses. In fact, this bill specifically eliminates distinctive statutes for small businesses. This means that all wages for businesses will be set at the same standard, regardless of size. See the eliminated language below:

MN Democrats also continue to classify any business with sales over $500K as a large business. Anyone in the business world knows that smart and innovative entrepreneurs could make millions of dollars and still have a fairly small staff and operation. In the eyes of power hungry socialist Democrats, a small business with a few employees should be held to the same exact standard as billion dollar corporations. If the Communists in the Legislature truly wanted to fight undue corporate influence, why are they taking it out on mom and pop shops?

It would have been bad enough if Democrats proposed a basic increase in the minimum wage statutes but instead, they use a loophole by raising the annual cap. Despite Democrats gaslighting Americans about inflation and telling us that we are too stupid to understand how good the economy really is. Meanwhile, consumer prices rose 3.5% in the last year according to the Consumer Price Index. This is largely due to raising prices in property and gas prices (Biden’s anti-oil agenda is not helping).

This bill additionally is multi-subject and is unconstitutional according to Article 4, Section 17 of the MN Constitution. On top of the minimum wage hike, this bill (1)creates additional occupational licensing requirements for power-limited technicians and (2)allows the Dept. of Labor and Industry Commissioner to force employers to reinstate employees who filed complaints against them. See below:

(1)

(2)

This bill passed the State Senate on 4/2/24 by a vote of 34-30. Senator Steve Drazkowski (R-20) was absent but the Senate Journal does not suggest it was an excused absence. Senators Jim Abeler (R-35) and Justin Eichorn (R-6) did not vote on this bill despite voting on previous bills and measures. 

It passed in the House, with amendments, on 4/11/24 by a vote of 70-61 and all three absences were marked as excused in the House Journal; Lisa Demuth (R-13A), Joe McDonald (R-29A), and Nathan Nelson (R-11B).

This piece of legislation will return to the State Senate and would have to be passed again in order for Tim Walz to be able to sign it. Patriots, small business owners, capitalists, economists, and common citizens must speak out against this legislation and demand that their representatives oppose wasteful government!

It’s not a joke. On April 1st, the sales tax in St. Paul reached a total of 9.88% per sales transaction. This move comes as inflation continues to soar nationwide, and the cost of living continues to increase with it. 

Voters in the city determined last election that they would be okay with increasing the tax by 1% from the original 0.5%. In 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed a new metro-area sales tax of 0.25% that fund public housing and a metro-area transportation tax of 0.75%. With a base sales tax of 6.88% statewide, families in St. Paul will be paying a whopping 9.88% sales tax per transaction.

A 10% sales tax is almost unheard of. It is certainly the highest in the state and ranks among the highest nationwide. Why would anyone buy groceries, cars, services, or goods in the capitol city when they can visit a neighboring city for a better price. Or, better yet, Minnesotans can hop across the Wisconsin border to do their shopping. 

Wisconsin has a statewide sales tax rate of 5%, while the City of Hudson (for example) only tacks on .5% on top of that. This means that you would be paying almost half as much to the Wisconsin government as you would to the Minnesota government.

The tax and spend culture in St. Paul is deadly for working Minnesotans who are just trying to get by. If politicians are hoping to push the taxpayers who are paying their salaries out of the state, they are succeeding.