Senate District 1 2026 Election Guide

Party: Republican

Incumbent

KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.

Contributed

Website: bjornforminnesota.com

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Age on Election Day: 35

Community: Halstad, MN

Employment: I am owner of Hugh's Gardens LLC

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

I grew up on my family’s 150+ year old farm and have spent much of my career working in agricultural capacities. Since 2019, I have owned a rural agribusiness, Hugh’s Gardens LLC, which is an organic potato storage and marketing business working directly with farmers, schools, food cooperatives, distributors, food banks, and other rural businesses to help redevelop our local food system and increase access to healthy food. This has given me great insight into supply chains and ongoing rural issues. I have also problem-solved with an array of people on community and regional organizations and boards. Attending a private Christian high school and graduating with a Social Studies Secondary Education degree from Concordia College has also given me insight into the importance of our schools and students' success. I bring the experience of someone who has lived, worked, and built a life in the community he wants to represent!

Why are you running?

I’m running because I don't like what's going on in our society--and rural Minnesota deserves a STRONGER voice in St. Paul. Our communities deserve access to good healthcare, our future generation deserves better learning opportunities, our families and workforce need affordable childcare, and our family farmers and small businesses need a fair shot in order to compete and succeed. Experience is important, but perspective is just as vital. My perspective is that something needs to be done NOW, and I'm putting in the work to learn as much as possible and earn your vote. The difference in campaign finance reports reflect that.

Why should voters elect you?

I care about whether your family can afford to live here, whether your kids have opportunities, and whether our farms and businesses can survive. I don't care about winning for a political party--I just want to fight for proper investments into our rural communities.
I know what it means to work hard, own a business, and try to make a living in rural Minnesota. And I also know how frustrating it is when decisions made in St. Paul don't reflect what our rural communities and businesses actually need.
I will grow Minnesota FROM THE GROUND UP. And I won't take your vote of trust in me for granted.

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

1) Healthcare: Expand healthcare workforce incentives, enforce 340B laws, protect rural hospital and emergency services/funding, support telehealth and in-home programs, and provide proper VA care
2) Affordability: Expand childcare reimbursement threshold/rates; strengthen rural school state funding, increase trade/apprenticeship/internship and other workforce opportunities; invest in localizing supply chains
3)Family Farm/Small Business Support: Strengthen state healthcare programs; increase beginning/new farmer support; invest in infrastructure projects; Cap government review timeframes and eliminate/revise unnecessary or burdensome regulations and taxes

Name a public leader you admire and explain why.

Thomas Massie. He’s willing to stand up to powerful people--including members of his own party--when he believes something is wrong. I respect his willingness to look at legislation moreso on its merits than simply asking who introduced it or what party supports it. That kind of independent-thinking and willingness to challenge the status quo is something I value in myself and in public service--especially these days. I am as stubborn as him in not liking being told what to do.

What natural resources policies do you support?

I support protecting Minnesota’s clean water, forests, and public lands WHILE KEEPING rural communities and working lands ECONOMICALLY healthy. As a country guy and agribusiness owner, I believe conservation works best when it is practical and developed with the people who actually live and work on the land. We should be localizing as many practical decisions as we can. I support: modest investments in soil and water conservation (my dad is on ND S & W boards), responsible and proactive forest and state land management, HEALTHY watersheds, and preserving working agricultural land for AGRICULTURE. I believe that we should be committed to both a healthy environment AND a healthy economy. Livestock and crop loss in the north needs to be immediately addressed physically and financially as well.

What policies do you support to address concerns of widespread fraud in state-run programs?

Fraud is unacceptable regardless of which party created or administered a program. We need stronger safeguards BEFORE money goes out, not investigations after it is gone. We should have been installing these safeguards when these programs were created and expanded--not waiting until millions of dollars were lost to ensure our legislative controls were good enough. I support: the adequate funding of the new independent Office of Inspector General and its investigative staff; requiring regular audits and in-person reviews of certain grantees; and involving counties and other state partners in verifying that services are actually legitimate. The legislature themselves are also responsible for the oversight of their spending. I also support stronger accountability measures for the people and organizations administering grants and don't want that work being outsourced. Stronger penalties to deter fraudulent behavior will help as well.

What policies would you champion to help alleviate growing property tax burdens on residents at the local government level?

The reality is that local governments and taxpayers are dealing with overall rising costs paired with reduced federal support and unfunded state requirements. I support: revising unfunded state mandates; strengthening the funding of Local Government Aid and County Program Aid; and localizing/delegating more decisions to the county and city level. It may take INCREASED state funding in some areas. This upcoming budget session is vital for increasing state investments in a responsible AND long-term viewed way, but with immediate impacts.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

Representative democracy to me means that in this leadership capacity, my job is to ensure every decision is made in the best interest of the people in District 1--before party or personal preferences. A leader of a particular political party CANNOT genuinely say the same. I'll represent the hard working, rural-loving, no-nonsense ways of those who call their rural community "home" up in the Northwest. And to those of you who are reluctant to believe me, I CANNOT WAIT to prove you wrong when I am in office.