A GOP Governor debate was held in Scott County on Thursday, January 15th, and was moderated by state Senator Bill Lieske (SD58). Many topics were covered and several areas created serious differentiation between candidates; Most notably, whether the candidate would veto publicly funded abortion. Of the 11 candidates participating, all candidates except Lisa Demuth, Chris Madel, and Peggy Bennett said they would veto the bill. The debate can be viewed in full here and the abortion section can be viewed here.

Self-described thumb-twiddler Peggy Bennett was the only candidate to explicitly say no while Democrat donor Chris Madel and Empty Suit Lisa “Kamala” Demuth offered up word salads. The question was delivered in a very clear way that demanded a yes or no answer, yet Madel and Demuth decided to skirt the issue. By refusing to answer yes or no, conservatives will have to assume they would not veto an abortion omnibus bill.

Lisa Demuth’s non-answer comes as no surprise. The 2nd LARGEST budget in MN history that Demuth agreed to with Walz and Democrats behind closed doors included the Health/abortion omnibus bill. Demuth voted for two different versions of that bill, one in regular session (HF2435) and another in the special session (HF2) and both included taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and to pay for abortions. MNGOP Chair Alex Plechash attempted to cover for what Demuth and 28 other RINO state Reps. did rather than demand legislators vote in line with the MNGOP platform.

Taxpayer funded abortion is the anti-thesis of the Republican Party’s platform. As argued by former Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer, if you won’t defund abortion you shouldn’t be a Republican in office. Demuth could’ve drawn a line in the sand and said she would not put a bill on the House floor that included that money but the issue clearly doesn’t reach the same level of importance as it does for MN conservatives. Demuth and Walz were on the same page and she voted for every single bill he signed into law in 2025.

With a record so similar to Tim Walz, it is no wonder why Demuth has to obfuscate serious questions voters have. The same could be said about Chris Madel, who was a major Democrat donor who gave $8,800 to Amy Klobuchar and $5,500 to Tim Walz which includes $4,000 to Walz in the 2022 Governor race. Demuth and Madel are unable to be straight up with voters because they are not aligned with the grassroots conservatives they are trying to win over.

Action 4 Liberty remains one of the only organizations in Minnesota who has always given voters the truth when it comes to taxpayer dollars funding abortion. Fake pro-life groups like the MCCL misrepresent the truth and play cover for the RINOs that vote for your tax dollars to fund the killing of unborn (and born) babies. While the MN Supreme Court has ruled that tax dollars should fund abortion, that does NOT compel a legislator to vote for the bill! If that were the case, why have a Legislature at all? Why is there a vote on funding abortion? Senator Nathan Wesenberg (SD10) proved the MCCL to be complete liars when he introduced an amendment that defunded tax dollars going to abortion. By holding that vote, it became obvious that the legislature can remove abortion funds from the Health omnibus bill!

Senator Wesenberg also says he was “begged” by a MCCL lobbyist (Don Parker) that he NOT introduce his life at conception Amendment on the Senate floor because it is “too extreme”. Instead of attacking the RINOs who voted for the abortion bill, the MCCL would rather attack conservative legislators and truthful groups like A4L exposing the truth. This goes to show the grassroots that self-proclaimed pro-life groups are not what they truly appear to be. 

The same goes for self-proclaimed pro-life politicians. Dr. Scott Jensen said in the Scott County debate that he would veto such legislation, but while in the state Senate, he voted FOR the bill! Kristin Robbins was not a participant of the debate but she voted for an abortion funding omnibus bill last year. 

As mentioned, A4L will always give conservatives the straight truth. While it would be nice to think that all Republican legislators are voting in line with the pro-life agenda, it would be dishonest to argue that. RINOs Peggy Bennett, Lisa Demuth, and Chris Madel exemplify the divide between the Establishment and the pro-life grassroots. A4L will continue keeping Patriots informed with the truth and will expose the RINOs who spend your tax dollars on abortion.