The Minnesota primary is coming up soon; August 14th, to be exact. Despite its importance in the democratic process, primary election don't see anywhere close to the turnout that the actual general elections do. In the 2016 Minnesota primary, only 7.42% of eligible Minnesotan's turned up to decide who would be appearing on the ballot in November. In my opinion, the primary election is just as important, if not more important, than the general election. While the general election essentially decides which party wins, the primary election decides what face the party will actually take on in the coming years. I think these primary elections would see higher turnouts if people knew who the candidates were, so I've decided to compile all the information I can find on the candidates of the DFL party. I'm choosing to concentrate solely on the Democratic party because a) even focusing on only one party is a lot of information to cover, and b) that's the party I support. While I have already chosen the candidates I am planning to support this week, I will not disclose who they are and will do my best to convey information about the individual candidates with as little bias as possible.
All the information in the articles will be taken from either the candidates' own websites and/or Minnesota news sources. Varying lengths in the candidate descriptions is not meant to convey any kind of bias or favor, I am simply presenting the information the candidates have made public through reputable sources. In order to remain as accurate to the source material as possible, some of the candidate descriptions are structured differently, as I have tried to model them after the candidates' websites.
In this article, we'll look at the Minnesota DFL candidates for the regularly scheduled 2018 primary election.
1.) Steve Carlson
- Although running in the DFL, Steve Carlson identifies as an independent and appears to be a more conservative democrat.
- Brands himself as an alternative to Amy Klobuchar
- Key platforms are creating more jobs and building up defense industry
- Access this candidate's profile here.
2.) Steven Emery
- Identifies as a conservative Democrat
- Emery has professional work experience as a County Agent (an agriculture consultant and youth worker), a Sales Representative selling herbicides for American Cyanamid and a Medical Representative promoting vaccines, antibiotics and antihypertensive drugs for Lederle Laboratories. His last 18 years of work have been invested in doing legal analysis and writing.
- Website states Emery is "pro-life, pro-gun, pro-traditional family, pro-private enterprise and pro-responsible immigration."
- In favor of decentralization of both central government and massive corporations
- Advocates for people-first environmental policy
- Family farming operations over corporate farming
- Education should remain a local matter (in favor of defunding the teaching of evolution)
- Repeal the Immigration Act of 1990 (Ted Kennedy's immigration policies)
- Opposed to abortion
- Advocates for the defunding and disbanding of the United Nations
- More action against cyberterrorism
- Access this candidate's website here.
3.) David Robert Groves
- Groves feels that census laws must be changed; he feels that non-citizens being counted equally to citizens has harmed the representation of Minnesotan citizens
- Groves is in favor of one bracket in tax law, with everybody at same rate. There would be no loophole deductions; incentive credits would be used to promote the greater good. Additionally, he wishes to outlaw the export of America's money by Banks and enforce an 18% corporate tax.
- Wishes to end misled government "truth hunts"
- Access this candidate's website here.
4.) Leonard Richards
Richards is a two-time convicted murderer, currently serving a life sentence in the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater.
5.) Amy Klobuchar
- The current incumbent senator in Minnesota.
- Worked for 8 years as the Hennepin County Attorney
- Wants to make sure those convicted of stalking or domestic violence cannot purchase of guns
- Klobuchar is working towards getting dark money out of politics, keeping foreign interests out of U.S. elections and restoring the election process.
- Klobuchar also hopes to better prepare Minnesotans for 21st century jobs and will continue to battle the opioid crisis and sex trafficking industry.
- Access this candidate's website here.
The primary is an extremely important part of the election process, and this year, much of Minnesota's legislation is being reshuffled. There are other positions that will be on the ballot on Tuesday that I do not have the time to cover, so be sure to take a quick look online for yourself. This election could change Minnesota, so be sure to get out and vote!
