Kobey Layne/Paul Ference

"I was raised in Walker, Minnesota, in a rural community where people believed in local control, personal freedom, responsible spending, and taking care of your neighbors. For a long time, I thought those values belonged in Republican politics.

The first time I learned what public power could mean was not in a classroom or at the Capitol. It was in Walker, when the city planned road construction that would have cut off access to the business and farmers market where I worked during the summer season our town depended on. We organized a petition, fought back, and won. That experience changed me. I saw what happens when everyday people stand together and demand to be heard.

That fight pushed me toward public service. I studied politics and policy at Hamline University and earned my master's degree in public policy. I learned how to analyze problems with discipline, evidence, and humility. I also learned how much I had not been taught, and how important it is to keep listening to people whose lives are shaped by systems most politicians only talk about from a distance.

After college, I worked at the Minnesota Senate for Senator Jim Abeler, then chair of the Human Services Reform Committee. There, I saw how complex state government is and how deeply people depend on it. I learned about disability services, DHS, group homes, nursing homes, and the real consequences of underfunded care. I also learned that sometimes responsible government means spending what it takes to keep people safe, housed, cared for, and alive.

I own that I used to work with and vote for Republicans. I also know why many working people still do. Many of us were taught that conservative politics meant community, freedom, and fairness. But over time, I had to be honest about what the party had become, and what it had long been. In becoming a Democrat, I did not leave my values behind. I followed them somewhere more honest.

My own journey as a transgender woman deepened that understanding. It showed me how often society is organized to protect powerful people while punishing everyone else for not fitting the mold. I am running because too many Minnesotans are being asked to survive systems that should be serving them.

Minnesota is being tested, the federal government is becoming more dangerous to the people Minnesota is supposed to protect. Operation Metro Surge showed what happens when federal power comes into our communities without accountability. Workers missed paychecks. Families missed appointments. Small businesses lost customers. Child care centers saw families disappear from classrooms because parents were afraid to leave home. When Operation Metro Surge began happening, I organized with my neighbors. Working with my neighbors lit a spark to my soul. When the Governor's race began to seem uncontested by a progressive candidate during such an important moment in history, I knew that I needed to step up. That is why I am running for Governor of Minnesota.

When everyday people stand together and demand to be heard, they can win. I am running for governor because too many Minnesotans have stopped believing that is true, and I do not blame them. As a working person, I understand that rent climbs faster than your paycheck. Groceries cost more every month. Care for a child, a parent, or yourself is hard to find and harder to afford. It does not have to be this way. It is a set of choices, and a governor is a public servant who can make those choices. With needing a progressive candidate in the race, I decided to step up.

I lead with three fights.

First, lower what your costs. More homes. Rent that stops outrunning paychecks. Lower medicine and medical costs. Rural hospitals that stay open. Utility regulators who answer to you instead of automatically profiting the corporations. Your monthly budget is the report card.

Second: Clean government- make this office answer to you. A Day One ethics order, a ban on insider stock trading, public conflicts of interest statements, protected whistleblowers, and a public dashboard with names, backlogs, and deadlines are visible to everyone.

Third, protect your land, water, and freedom. Protecting the Boundary Waters. Cleaning drinking water by beginning work clearing out nitrates from rural farm wells because no family should fear the water from their own tap. Protecting the Right to Choose- without the government interfering between you and your doctor. Welcoming and protecting our new LGBTQ+ neighbors. Being good neighbors with our Immigrant communities.

I will not make promises I cannot keep. Every promise I make comes with the power that delivers it and a way for you to check my work. Minnesota should work for ordinary people, not just those with wealth and connections. That is why I am running for governor."