KAXE contacted each candidate at least twice to invite them to participate in our Election Guide, using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office.
Candidate responses have not been edited and are published exactly as submitted, including typos and formatting.
As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics. We will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.
Please contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.
KAXE's Election Guide includes contested races in communities with at least 100 people. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else will be on the ballot in November.
About this race
The attorney general ensures the laws passed by the state Legislature are upheld, provides legal representation for the state and its agencies and protects Minnesotans by bringing lawsuits on their behalf, among other duties.
Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison is running for a third term.
The winner of the election will begin their four-year term in January.
Click the tabs below to learn more about the candidates
Incumbent
Website: keithellison.org
Party: DFL
Age on Election Day: 63
Community: North Minneapolis
Employment: Office of the Minnesota Attorney General; Attorney General
Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.
It's the honor of a lifetime to have been elected to serve as Minnesota's Attorney General for two terms.
During that time, I've worked hard to help Minnesotans afford their lives, prosecuted hundreds of fraudsters, sent violent criminals to prison, took on corporations that have been breaking the law and harming Minnesotans, especially our children, and stood up to the Trump administration when they've targeted our state.
Why are you running?
I'm running to help Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect, and there's more work to be done.
Powerful and well-connected corporations are doing everything they can - including breaking the law - to squeeze every last dollar out of Minnesota families.
Trump's corrupt federal government is stealing money meant for Minnesota's schools, healthcare, roads and bridges, and more.
Minnesotans need a fighter in their corner now more than ever. I've taken on tough fights and won, and I'm running for a third term to keep fighting for the state I love.
Why should voters elect you?
Voters should elect me because I've got a proven record of bringing down costs for Minnesota families. As Attorney General, I've taken on price-gouging insulin makers, hedge fund landlords, and price-fixing meatpackers who were illegally driving up prices for medicine, housing, and groceries - and won.
And I've been taking on fraud. Since day one, I've secured over 350 fraud convictions, which is a conviction every 8 days. I run one of the most effective Medicaid fraud-fighting units in the country and I just led the passage of a major fraud-fighting bill that will increase penalties and give us new tools to convict fraudsters and recover our tax dollars.
And I've been standing up to Trump's dangerous abuse of power. Trump has tried to cut money from Minnesota childcare, healthcare, public schools, road and bridge repair, natural disaster preparedness, and I've protected over $7.3 billion in funding from illegal cuts.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
1.) Continue helping Minnesotans afford their lives by taking on unlawful behavior driving up prices for Minnesota families. Minnesotans deserve better than to be pushed around by the wealthy, powerful, and well-connected.
2.) Continue prosecuting fraud and violent crime to protect the people of Minnesota. Our fraud-fighting team regularly ranks as one of the best in the nation, and I want to continue building on that success.
3.) Continue protecting the people of Minnesota from Donald Trump’s dangerous overreach and abuse of power. President Trump is committed to waging war on Minnesota, and I will do everything I can do to defend our state from him.
Why should voters trust you to address the widespread fraud in state-run programs?
Voters should trust me because I’ve run one of the most effective fraud-fighting teams in the nation. My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit regularly ranks as one of the best in the nation - we average 5th in the nation when it comes to the number of fraud convictions we’ve secured on average. My fraud-fighting team has secured over 350 Medicaid fraud convictions since I was first elected - that’s a conviction every 8 days.
I also led the charge to pass the Medicaid Assistance Protection Act (MAP Act). This bill increases penalties for Medicaid fraud, increases the number of fraud investigators in my office, and strengthens state anti-fraud laws.
Editor’s note: In the three most recent reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Minnesota ranked seventh, eighth and sixth in total fraud convictions.
Data privacy is a concern for many voters, especially with the spread of Flock cameras, the growth of AI and an increase in cyber attacks. As AG, how would you address these concerns?
I share the people of Minnesota’s concerns about data privacy. That’s why I worked with lawmakers on the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act, which is now law and gives Minnesotans far greater control over their data online. Minnesotans can visit privacymn.com to learn about their new privacy rights and learn how to file a report with my office if they are violated.
I’m also working to protect the privacy of Minnesotans from the Trump administration. Time after time, the Trump administration has illegally demanded that our state turn over troves of data on Minnesotans, which I’ve successfully challenged in court.
As your attorney general, I will continue to do everything in my power to defend the privacy of Minnesotans.
If elected, how would your office support county-level offices?
One of the biggest ways I’ve supported county-level offices is through criminal prosecution.
In Minnesota, most crimes are prosecuted by county attorneys. However, sometimes counties need help prosecuting a particularly difficult or complex criminal case, which is where my office comes in, as Minnesota law allows counties to ask for our help on tough cases.
We regularly help counties with challenging cases involving murder, assault, sex crimes, and more, and we’ve got a great track record of securing convictions.
When I was first elected, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office only had one or two prosecutors working for us, but I worked with the legislature to secure additional funding for our Criminal Division. We now have a team of 12 seasoned prosecutors who help county attorneys across Minnesota prosecute violent crime and hold offenders accountable.
What role do you think politics should play in this office?
My values guide my politics. And my values are making sure everyone can afford their life and that everyone can live with dignity, safety, and respect.
Those same values that guide my politics also guide the lawsuits I file. I care deeply about the cost of living for Minnesotans, which is why I sued insulin makers to lower the price of that life-saving drug to just $35 per month, why I took on John Deere for driving up costs for farmers by preventing them from repairing the Deere equipment they purchase, and why I took on Agri-Stats for driving up grocery prices by helping most meatpackers in America coordinate to raise prices.
While my values guide the work I do, whether someone is a Democrat or a Republican will never impact my decision to hold them accountable if they violate the law.
Website: ronformnag.com
Party: Republican
Age on Election Day: (Field left blank)
Community: Medina
Employment: Schutz PLLC-lawyer
Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.
I was the Chairman of a 200 lawyer national litigation firm. At the beginning of my career I was a prosecutor in the US Army JAG Corps.
Why are you running?
To restore integrity to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office and put the interests of the people of Minnesota above politics.
Why should voters elect you?
Minnesota deserves to have one of the best lawyers in the country as their Attorney General and not a career politician who is only interested in generating headlines and who has turned a blind eye to the massive fraud and corruption that permeates our State Government.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
Prosecute fraudsters, Support law enforcement. Restore fairness in girls sports by keeping biological males from competing against girls.
Why should voters trust you to address the widespread fraud in state-run programs?
Unlike the current Attorney General, I've spent my career in the courtroom and know how to win.
Data privacy is a concern for many voters, especially with the spread of Flock cameras, the growth of AI and an increase in cyber attacks. As AG, how would you address these concerns?
The use of Flock cameras is decided by state and local units of government and not the Attorney General. But as Attorney General, I would aggressively prosecute any misuse of data gathered by Flock cameras.
If elected, how would your office support county-level offices?
We would be a resource for county attorneys and provide whatever support they needed in prosecuting difficult or complex cases.
What role do you think politics should play in this office?
Politics should play NO ROLE in this office.
Still have questions for the candidates? Contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.
-
Contributed/Book covers—publisher websites; Tracy KampaChildren's librarian Tracy Kampa reviews new books by Sophie Blackall, Chelsea Lin Wallace, Steve Sheinkin and Meaghan McIsaac. -
The retired DNR forester gave a walking tour of his forest property as part of a Cass Soil and Water Conservation District forest management event. -
Plus: Aitkin's 68-year-old water tower is demolished; Demuth, Klobuchar will debate in the Brainerd lakes area; and we're partnered with ICTV to host school board forums.
-
Stella Mayerhoff/KAXE / Report for AmericaRetired DNR forester Gary Anderson gave a walking tour of his forest property as part of a Cass Soil and Water Conservation District habitat management event.
