Governor and Lieutenant Governor
TLDR: Three tickets are running for the open seat: Steven Young and Jane Kirby (Green); Amy Klobuchar and Ben Schierer (DFL); Lisa Demuth and Ryan Wilson (Republican). Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) dropped his bid for a third term in January 2026. The winner serves a 4-year term, and every Bloomington voter has it on their ballot.
$104K traded
Klobuchar95%
Demuth5%
Young<1%
Steven Young and Jane KirbyGreen- Work
- Metro Transit light rail operator (self-described in KAXE questionnaire)
- Lives in
- Minneapolis
- Background
- Raised
- $1,810, $655 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Green Party of Minnesota (state c…
Amy Klobuchar and Ben SchiererDemocratic-Farmer-Labor- Now
- U.S. Senator from Minnesota (since 2007)
- Work
- U.S. Senator
- Lives in
- Minneapolis
- Background
- U.S. Senator from Minnesota since Jan. 3, 2007; current Senate term runs to 2031 ballotpedia.org
- First woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate klobuchar.senate.gov
- Hennepin County Attorney (head of the state's largest prosecutor's office) for eight years before the Senate klobuchar.senate.gov
- Bachelor's degree, Yale University; law degree, University of Chicago Law School ballotpedia.org
- Before holding office, was the leading advocate for one of the first state laws guaranteeing 48-hour hospital stays for new mothers and babies amyklobuchar.com
- In office
- Secured full federal funding to rebuild the I-35W bridge within 13 months of its 2007 collapse (per her Senate office) klobuchar.senate.gov
- Led the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which was signed into law (per her Senate office) klobuchar.senate.gov
- Provisions from her bill letting Medicare negotiate drug prices were signed into law in 2022 (per her Senate office) klobuchar.senate.gov
- Ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; worked on several bipartisan farm bills klobuchar.senate.gov
- Raised
- $12,565,362, $3,519,597 on hand cfb.mn.gov
Lisa Demuth and Ryan WilsonRepublican- Now
- Speaker of the Minnesota House; state representative, District 13A
- Work
- Business owner; Speaker of the Minnesota House
- Lives in
- Cold Spring
- Background
- Graduated from Bloomington Kennedy High School (1985) minnpost.com
- ROCORI School Board, 11 years (first elected 2007) minnpost.com
- Minnesota House since 2019 (elected 2018), District 13A; now in her fourth term house.mn.gov
- Elected House Republican (minority) leader in 2022; became Speaker in February 2025 lisaformn.com
- Co-owns Boardwalk Business Center in Cold Spring minnpost.com
- In office
- Elected Speaker of the Minnesota House in February 2025, the first Black lawmaker and first Republican woman in the role (per her campaign) lisaformn.com
- As Speaker, negotiated the 2025 two-year state budget with DFL leaders in a tied House minnpost.com
- Led House Republicans in 2024 to a tied House, only the second in state history (per her campaign) lisaformn.com
- Raised
- $2,588,126, $618,146 on hand cfb.mn.gov
Q: Where do they stand on taxes and cost of living?
Klobuchar: Says she will work to lower health care, housing, child care and utility costs, including building more homes and expanding child care access, and modernizing the power grid with "more affordable, renewable energy." amyklobuchar.com
Klobuchar: Said at the Farmfest forum, "I'm not going to increase your taxes," and committed to keeping local government aid. mprnews.org
Demuth: Would cut income taxes by reducing the lowest two brackets, roll back car tab fees, end state taxes on Social Security benefits, and require surplus dollars to be returned to taxpayers. lisaformn.com
No public statement found from Young.
Q: Where do they stand on fraud?
Young: Would stop outsourcing state services to private organizations and use only accountable state personnel; argues that guaranteed income and universal health care would remove reasons to commit fraud. kaxe.org
Klobuchar: Promises a "top-to-bottom audit" of state government and a "Do Not Pay" database barring people convicted of fraud from state payments; said at Farmfest, "I will root out the fraud. I'm going to make sure that we're vetting all the contracts." kaxe.org
Demuth: Would "fire those responsible for the fraud" and work with the Legislature to create a nonpartisan Office of Inspector General with power to root out fraud across government. kaxe.org
Q: Where do they stand on public safety?
Klobuchar: Points to her record as Hennepin County Attorney and says as governor she will "take on organized crime and gang violence" and "assist local police departments to hire and retain more officers." amyklobuchar.com
Demuth: Would invest in public safety for cities and counties and strengthen sentences for repeat offenders. lisaformn.com
No public statement found from Young.
Q: Where do they stand on immigration enforcement?
Young: Calls for a "sanctuary state" and says, "I know that the governor can't technically abolish ICE, but I can make their lives miserable while they're in our state." steveformngov.info
Klobuchar: Launched her campaign during the federal immigration surge saying, "I'm running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love." srnnews.com
Demuth: Says Minnesota "should be honoring requests by the federal government to hold criminals that are here illegally that are already in our jails" so they can be detained by ICE "in an orderly and safe manner." fox9.com
Q: Where do they stand on health care?
Young: Supports single-payer health care and a guaranteed basic income ("UBI, M4A, jobs jobs and more jobs!"). steveformngov.info
Klobuchar: Pledged to restore federal tax credits for marketplace insurance or create state-level subsidies. mprnews.org
Demuth: Has not released a health care platform; her campaign says she will "work to support rural hospitals" and "make sure healthcare dollars only go to those who need it," and cites her work as Speaker to continue the state's reinsurance program. kttc.com
Q: Where do they stand on education?
Young: "Whatever the teachers need, I'll make sure they get it." kaxe.org
Klobuchar: Wants evidence-based reading and math curricula, tutoring, a ban on cellphones in classrooms, and to double apprenticeships and workforce training. amyklobuchar.com
Demuth: Wants schools to focus on "academic excellence and reading proficiency" and to keep "woke gender and racial ideology out of our classrooms." lisaformn.com
