Minnesota governor candidates spar over fraud and immigration [FULL]

[0:00] First of all, the format here, our moderator will introduce the candidates. [0:09] There are no opening statements. [0:11] We'll go right into questions and answers. [0:14] There's no questions from the audience. [0:16] We've gotten gathered topics over the course of the last six months that are important to rural Minnesota, [0:24] all of Minnesota, and the agriculture industry. [0:28] Our moderator has questions. [0:31] Each, the order of response will rotate with the candidates. [0:36] They each get a minute to respond. [0:39] And when I hold up this sign, it means there's 15 seconds left, right here, the first one. [0:46] And when I hold up the second one, it means your minute is up. [0:51] And the third thing that happens, our moderator, Boyce, will probably have to ask them to stop. [0:58] Which I hope it didn't happen yesterday. [1:01] So, and then at the end, we'll allow enough time for each candidate to make a two-minute closing statement. [1:08] Again, we will be timing. [1:10] Very happy for the last several years. [1:13] Our Minnesota Governor candidate forum has been moderated by Boyce Olsen, a well-known podcaster, well-known blog he puts out, as well as being on WCCO radio. [1:28] Please welcome Boyce Olsen. [1:30] Thanks. [1:32] Thanks, Ken. [1:33] Candidates, you guys can sit down. [1:35] I have a statement from Farm Fest that I want to read before we get started. [1:41] Before we begin, this forum is hosted by Farm Fest and sponsored by the Minnesota Foundation for Agriculture. [1:47] It is a non-partisan and educational. [1:50] We do not endorse, support, or oppose any candidate or political party. [1:54] The candidates joining us today were invited under objective criteria established in advance and posted on the Farm Fest website. [2:01] Candidates had to be legally qualified for the office on the ballot as the candidate of a recognized party by the state of Minnesota and polling at least 15% level in an independent public poll. [2:15] Every candidate who met those criteria were invited to participate. [2:19] Each candidate will receive equal time to speak and respond and questions are designed to be fair across all participants. [2:26] Please give every candidate the respect of being heard. [2:29] If at any point there's concern for safety of the candidates or the audience, we will end this forum immediately. [2:35] Anyone who disrupts may be removed from the Farm Fest grounds. [2:39] And with that, we will begin. [2:42] We'll start in order. [2:44] And the first question is really, I think, something that over the last couple decades, this audience and Farm Fest has really kind of focused on. [2:56] And it comes into more narrow focus when there's an open governor's seat. [3:02] Minnesota has become more divided by geography. [3:06] How do you plan to connect or unite the state so that there is not a narrative of urban versus rural? [3:16] Senator Klobuchar, we'll start with you. [3:18] Well, thank you very much, Boyce, and thank you, everyone. [3:21] It's good to see Zippy Duvall, the head of Farm Bureau National here, as well as many Farmers Union people. [3:28] I love Farm Fest, and I guess I'd start with this. [3:31] This is one way we bring people together in Minnesota, and that's having civil debates about issues. [3:37] That is things like what I have done every year since being in statewide office, visiting every single county, all 87, every single year. [3:47] And I don't care if people are Republican or Democrats. [3:50] They come and they tell me what's wrong, especially our farmers. [3:53] And what our farmers are facing right now should bring people together. [3:57] Doesn't matter what party you're in. [3:59] The headwinds they're up against with these tariffs that I strongly oppose. [4:03] What's been happening with fertilizer costs and the like due to the war in Iran. [4:08] So the answer is we're going to have headwinds, but they can never be an excuse. [4:13] So the fact that I have been number one for bipartisan bills in the U.S. Senate, number three for getting bills signed into law means something. [4:22] Because as governor, I don't like the status quo. [4:25] I want to transform this state. [4:27] I like my job now, but I love our state more. [4:30] And I am running to change things to make it better for you. [4:35] Speaker Damoth. [4:36] Hey, good morning. [4:41] It's great to be with you out at Farm Fest today. [4:43] One of my favorite things to attend every year. [4:46] Beautiful drive. [4:47] I am the only candidate sitting before you that's actually from greater Minnesota. [4:52] I was born in Painesville, but I live in the Cold Spring area. [4:55] What I will say as far as unifying our state, now more than ever, [5:00] this is our opportunity, regardless of your political party, to show that Minnesotans can unite and move forward as a state for what will better all of us. [5:14] I am proud to have led the House of Representatives as Speaker of the House here in Minnesota over the last year in the second time in history in a tie. [5:26] That means there's 67 Democrats, 67 Republicans, absolutely everything that we passed over the last two years had to be bipartisan. [5:38] We have proven that we can do that here in Minnesota. [5:42] And as your next governor, my proof is that I can lead this state. [5:47] I led the body into unity. [5:49] It is great to be with all of you here today. [5:52] Mike Lindell. [5:53] Mike Lindell. [5:58] Thank you all. [5:59] I know I can unite the state. [6:02] My roots were in farming. [6:03] That was my first job or one of my first jobs for years. [6:07] And I know the problems with farming. [6:10] I was a crack addict in the middle of Minneapolis for years. [6:14] I quit that by the grace of God. [6:16] And then put millions of dollars into Minneapolis and St. Paul into the inner city to help the homeless, the people in addiction. [6:24] And my story speaks for itself. [6:27] And then I built one of the biggest businesses Minnesota has ever seen. [6:32] Probably the nation direct sales. [6:35] And then when it's been attacked over the last five years, able to guide that through as a CEO. [6:40] And we're still standing and then to be able to come into Minnesota and be able to unite everybody. [6:47] And our budget's coming out tomorrow. [6:50] And it'll show that we will be the 10th state in the nation to be income tax free. [6:56] Colonel Qualls? [7:02] Yeah, if you listen to the question from Blois, he's talking about the differences between greater Minnesota and the metro, the rest of the state. [7:13] But the differences are not just geography, the differences are in values. [7:17] When you change the state flag, when you have half the Democrat Party calling themselves the Democrats Socialists of America. [7:27] Those are value differences that do not sustain any organization or state. [7:34] We have to have common values, common beliefs that we used to have as a state and as a country and are under wraps. [7:44] Now, as an Army veteran, I put my life on the line for the things that matter about this country. [7:50] Pledge an oath to defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. [7:55] And that oath has no expiration date. [8:00] This is about values, not where you live. [8:03] Your industry is a way of life, but it's also your way of earning money. [8:09] And they've rejected both of those in that party. [8:14] Next question starts with Speaker Lisa Damoth. [8:21] One of the topics that's been talked about, I think, for the last, I'll call it 16 farm fests, has been the permitting process in the state of Minnesota. [8:31] As governor, how quickly can you change the permitting process to expedite it? [8:36] And what specifically would you do? [8:38] The permitting process for not just agriculture, but many of our industries has been what has really held back the growth of businesses and our economy here in Minnesota. [8:49] There's such a uniqueness in each part of our state when you think of mining up north, agriculture across the state, and many more things. [8:57] When we are running anywhere from weeks to months to sometimes years of permitting delays, that is holding back any type of growth. [9:07] When it comes specifically to ag, though, some of those things that we need to change are knowing that we need to allow crop protection. [9:15] We can't just be eliminating the tools that are out there for our agriculture and our farmers to be able to use. [9:22] But we need to keep our environment safe. [9:24] I am the first one to tell you that I enjoy knowing that we have clean air and clean water. [9:30] But removing the amount of regulation and rulemaking that MPCA has and bringing that back into common sense, moving our state forward and eliminating the delays alone in permitting is a first step. [9:46] Mike Lindell. [9:50] You know, the time of getting a permit in regulation, I deal with this in my own business. [9:55] We recently moved factories, it took nine or almost nine weeks to get a permit to see how high my racks were in my building. [10:04] I'm very familiar with the stuff that we have to. [10:07] In farming, you can tell I can tell you when I'm governor, it will be done yesterday. [10:14] I'm very impatient. [10:15] Why are we waiting? [10:17] We need to get things done. [10:18] You don't wait until third quarter to say, hey, there's $9 billion missing. [10:24] I need this permit now. [10:26] I need to get this out there now. [10:27] You don't procrastinate. [10:29] And that's all about communication and bringing back those. [10:33] Our government holding these things back, these regulations to get rid of them [10:37] and to get the permits out as fast as they can. [10:40] It costs every one of you money. [10:42] That's going to be one of my priorities is they're getting rid of the regulation [10:45] and getting the speed of things pushed through. [10:48] Can I help? [10:50] Yep. [10:50] So my friends, let's just put this straight. [10:53] We need to have a real, honest, direct conversation. [10:57] Minnesota has become an anti-business state. [11:02] The permitting issues are just one. [11:04] I've heard Governor Walz talk two years ago, yeah, we need to fix this. [11:08] I'm going to put together a committee. [11:11] We're way beyond committee. [11:12] If you're wanting and if you believe that the state needs just tweaking around the edges [11:18] from politicians, I'm not your candidate. [11:21] If you think that we need radical change in our state, I'm your guy because we need radical [11:26] change in leadership. [11:28] Most voters, most voters in the Republican Party wanted an outside business candidate, [11:34] and the majority of them got that. [11:37] They wanted that. [11:38] The key next, the question next is this. [11:42] Can we get someone elected when we haven't gotten it done in 20 years? [11:45] And I can help get us elected because the metro has always been the Achilles heel for us as Republicans. [11:53] I can help get us elected without compromising our conservative values. [11:59] I've been doing it in my entire life. [12:01] I came out of a Democrat poverty-ridden, generational poverty environment. [12:05] I can get us there. [12:09] Senator Klobuchar. [12:10] I'm running on a growth agenda because when I see what our state needs, it needs to expand. [12:18] We need to bring in more small businesses, and we need to grow our economy. [12:23] That means new domestic markets for your crops. [12:26] That means new international markets so we can get more trade deals. [12:30] But I also think we need to cut through the red tape. [12:33] That means permitting change. [12:35] That means when you apply for a permit, we have a deadline. [12:39] And if the state doesn't make a decision by then, you get your money back. [12:43] This is not easy for people who are in small businesses and rural to deal with a state government [12:48] that doesn't match your drive and your ambition. [12:52] You have a right to get answers, and it is especially hard if you can't hire a bunch of accountants [12:58] or you don't have some big business and you're small and you're sitting at your kitchen table [13:02] trying to get answers from the state. [13:04] So this was why I led, when I announced my candidacy for governor, I led with this kind of reform. [13:11] We've seen it work not just for farming. [13:12] One size doesn't fit all. [13:14] How about housing? [13:15] We need more housing in rural Minnesota. [13:17] And that's why the Road to Housing bill we just passed bipartisan in the Senate is going to lead the way [13:22] to allow me to get 100,000 more units of housing in Minnesota. [13:27] We need it. [13:28] Picking up there, Minnesota has fallen in animal agriculture and has not been able to grow. [13:42] Starting with you, Mike, how would you as governor ensure that we stabilized [13:48] and grew back animal agriculture in the state of Minnesota? [13:52] Well, I think there's a lot of monopolies with the meat packers [13:57] and a lot of problems that we have out there with monopolies, price fixing, antitrust laws to look at. [14:04] But I want to bring it back. [14:08] I think you've got to bring the costs down. [14:10] And that's one thing that I'm going to do with farming. [14:12] And that comes with a lot of things that you will see on our budget, which is a health plan, [14:18] direct care that you're going to see on there, and direct primary care. [14:26] That's going to affect everything you do throughout our whole state. [14:29] But to bring down the costs and then to bring it back, I think you've got to start with the cost of doing business, [14:36] new farmers that are there. [14:38] There's a program now where they put out loans or whatever for new farmers. [14:42] I have a private sector plan that will put money into that so you have more new farmers that can start. [14:49] And so there's a lot of there's a lot of things that are going to be done to help. [14:55] I mean, this is where my passion is, is with the farming. [14:59] Kendall. [14:59] Well, let me repeat that question. [15:01] I want to make sure I answer it specifically. [15:02] Sure. [15:04] Minnesota has fallen in total amount of animal agriculture. [15:08] How do you stabilize it and ensure animal agriculture grows again in Minnesota? [15:12] Well, I tell you, government doesn't stabilize anything. [15:15] If anything, they need to get off the backs of the people that are doing the work. [15:19] So, listen, agriculture is over a $20 billion industry in our state. [15:25] It's number two or three industry in a state, it's number five or six nationally, and you get treated like second-class citizens. [15:34] Look, I'm not going to claim to be an expert in your industry and what you do, but here's what I do know. [15:40] Your way of life is what you chose, along with your industry, how you make a living. [15:46] You have probably the most tons of variability, things that are outside your control in farming. [15:52] You don't need the state being another challenge, another barrier. [15:58] It's like you're doing your hard job with all the variability, and you've got these big, fat guys that you're having to load around in addition to what you're doing. [16:08] You shouldn't need that guy on your back, and that big guy is the state. [16:11] I'm going to get him off your back. [16:15] Amy? [16:15] You specifically asked about animal production. [16:19] So, let me start with number one. [16:21] We're number one for turkeys. [16:23] We're number two for hogs, we're number ten for dairy and for cattle. [16:27] This is a big deal to us. [16:29] Thank you, one person. [16:31] We have to protect, protect our animals, and that means from things like avian flu, right? [16:38] That's why Senator Korn and I set up that vaccine bank that was incredibly helpful when avian flu did hit and is hitting our state. [16:46] Make sure you get those agri grants that allow you to use that for biosecurity for things like lasers that are working on some of our farms. [16:55] Making sure that our farmers can count on disaster loans, depredation payments, mitigation, right, when it comes to wolves. [17:04] Making sure the trapper program continues. [17:07] And then getting more large animal vets. [17:09] I started the vet caucus with Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. [17:15] Every rancher in this room knows what I'm talking about. [17:18] And we need to have a pipeline of kids going into being veterinarians. [17:22] And I'm really actually excited to work on this in our state. [17:26] And finally, the permitting. [17:27] Yes or no on permits. [17:29] Thanks. [17:29] Lisa? [17:30] When we're looking at improving the livestock industry here in the state of Minnesota, [17:35] we've already touched on a portion of what is holding us back, which is permitting and the regulatory environment. [17:41] That needs to change. [17:43] But when you see livestock and dairy herds increasing in our bordering states, [17:49] that means that we've regulated people to grow their farms such as they want out of our state to the bordering. [17:55] So that's the first piece of what we needed to do. [17:58] Some of the work that we did this last legislative session under my leadership, I'm very proud of. [18:03] We made sure that we fully funded and appropriately funded the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. [18:09] And we also put in an additional $1.5 million into the disaster account. [18:15] So when we're looking at issues such as the avian high path flu or anything else that really hurts our producers across the state, [18:24] that we are supporting from a government level in two ways. [18:27] government needs to stand back, get out of the way, so you and agriculture can do what you need to do. [18:33] And then we need to support the work, especially our beginning farmers and those trade-offs as people are moving their farmers to the next generation. [18:42] Next question starts with Kendall. [18:46] There's been an overbearance of property tax burden on greater Minnesota and farmland. [18:51] And how do you make sure that there is not an overburden of property taxes on rural land and farmland if you're governor? [18:59] Well, exactly this. [19:00] Going back to my earlier statement, we need radical change. [19:05] And radical change starts with a radical change in leadership. [19:07] If we wind up keep doing the same things we're doing over and over again, we're going to be in the exact same position. [19:14] We're going to tweak. [19:16] We've listened for politicians over the last 20 years talk about what they're going to do, but for 20 years, we're stuck in the same position. [19:26] And as a result, here's what the change has happened in 20 years. [19:31] Greater Minnesota has gone from Democrat to Republican 56% in the last election at the presidential election. [19:39] The other thing that's happened is that your friends and family members have left the state because they've given up on not only the Democrat Party, [19:48] but even the Republicans to do something different to change things. [19:52] That's why you're sitting here with two business leaders from outside of politics wanting to help because we're in this desperate situation to do something. [20:02] And we need to get someone that can get elected statewide. [20:06] That's why I'm here. [20:08] Amy? [20:08] Amy? [20:09] Yep. [20:10] I came out of local government, ran the biggest prosecutor's office in the state, and I'm very focused on what's happening with county property taxes. [20:20] I'm not going to increase your taxes. [20:22] I'm going to make sure that we balance our budget. [20:24] But the one thing that I'm going to do is make sure that the local government aid is there, the county program aid, [20:30] adding ag-to-school credits that matter a lot for our rural schools, property tax credits for things like the buffer acres, and then fighting these unfunded mandates. [20:42] I'm going back to Washington right when we get done here to work on the farm bill, and I came from there because I wanted to be with all of you, but one of the things that we need to fix, the counties in Minnesota have gathered and told me, [20:55] we've got to fix this thing with how they did the snap cuts, it's putting the burden, it's like a property tax in disguise, when they put the burden on Minnesota county taxpayers, [21:06] and then rewarded states like Alaska, whose error rate is twice that of Minnesota, or Illinois, who has a much higher error rate than Minnesota. [21:17] So I'm going back to fix that. [21:18] I want to get a farm bill done. [21:20] Thank you. [21:21] Lisa? [21:22] Property taxes here in Minnesota are much too high, and I hear that across the state as I'm visiting with Minnesotans. [21:31] You have to look at the reason why. [21:33] We have mandates that have been put on every form of government and business with paid family medical leave, with no exemptions for small businesses or ag or seasonal workers. [21:46] That is a mandate that is pushed on every city, county, township, school district, and every single business. [21:53] That drives up our property taxes. [21:55] Earned sick and safe time is another thing. [21:57] But when we look at the state of Minnesota with the DNR coming and buying up property at higher prices, and we look at, because of the clean energy mandate, again, a mandate, [22:09] the clean energy mandate, other sources of energy such as solar and wind, buying up prime land that needs to be farmed instead of used for those purposes. [22:20] It's being bought up or leased at a higher rate that's driving all of our costs up across the state. [22:26] I'm proud of the work that we did in the legislature to give some property tax relief. [22:30] It's short term until I become your next governor when it can become permanent and more. [22:35] Mike? [22:36] Okay, this is also going to be backed up with the budget I have coming out tomorrow. [22:43] But let's see where our property taxes come from. [22:46] The first thing I'm going to do is stop and cancel all the unfunded mandates. [22:52] And then here's what they do is our schools need money. [22:56] We went from the top in the nation to one of the worst in testing. [23:00] When they need funding, they put bonds upon top of bonds. [23:03] It's like a Ponzi scheme. [23:05] When they don't have the money, they raise your property taxes. [23:07] But what I'm going to do is bringing a system from another state where they went from the worst to first, one of the first, it was Mississippi. [23:17] Bringing that in immediately as governor, putting that in place. [23:21] They went from, and their testing went from worst to in the top five. [23:25] And in their, get this, in their education, they spent 30% less. [23:30] All the money we're going to save in education, not only getting your kids smarter, but your property tax are going to be lowered substantially. [23:39] Kendall? [23:40] Yeah, I'll answer that twice if you want. [23:46] Oh, that's all right. [23:50] Next topic is health care. [23:52] Between cost and affordability and workforce, greater Minnesota is struggling with health care. [23:59] And starting with you, Amy, what can the state do to ensure that we recruit doctors and professionals to health care in Minnesota? [24:10] This is huge. [24:11] This is why I actually put on my plan for 10,000 more apprenticeships in our state. [24:17] I use one example. [24:19] U of M in Rochester has a three-year degree right now instead of four to get your four-year degree. [24:24] And then they partner with the area hospitals and Mayo to be able to have the kids do their training there at the same time. [24:33] That's one idea. [24:34] And we need to spread it across statewide so we get more. [24:37] We build our health care workforce, not just doctors, nurses, med techs, you name it. [24:42] Because we're sorely in trouble in rural Minnesota right now. [24:46] The second thing, immigration reform. [24:48] A lot of my opponents up here may not want to talk about it, but we need immigration reform for greater Minnesota. [24:54] And that, of course, includes H-2A visas. [24:57] Third thing, when you look at what's happening, these trump cuts when it comes to Medicaid, what happened with the Affordable Care Act tax credits, [25:06] so many of our farmers and ranchers and people in rural Minnesota are on the individual marketplace. [25:12] I will, if they do not, extend that tax credit on those individual marketplace plans to help you bring down your tax insurance, your insurance premiums, [25:22] I will do it on the state level as your governor. [25:24] Health care costs in Minnesota have exploded, and you're going to hear a theme on almost all of the questions that are posed, [25:38] what's driving up the cost, and it is unfunded mandates, or it is business mandates. [25:43] Again, paid family leave, the other pressures that put on all of our businesses, including health care. [25:50] Those are Democrat-created issues here at the state level that need to be changed. [25:56] When you think of what has driven up our health care costs in a way that made it unaffordable, that was Obamacare. [26:03] Passed at a federal level, and it has made our health insurance, our health coverage, very unaffordable in the state. [26:10] What I will tell you, though, this is what we have the absolute opportunity to do. [26:15] I was proud to be at the ribbon-cutting for the University of Minnesota Rural Medical School in St. Cloud, Minnesota, [26:24] a partnership with CentraCare to bring rural health care across the state. [26:29] We know when Minnesotans can access that health care earlier on, it gives us better outcomes, not just medical, but also dental, [26:38] something that I've supported the entire time in my legislature career. [26:42] Mike, this is actually the biggest part of my budget that you can see tomorrow at lyndalegov.com. [26:49] We're bringing in a plan that was done, developed by actually a guy that I worked with for years in Michigan, [26:55] and it was put in, it's direct primary care. [26:59] This plan will be all, healthcare affects every one of us, and also our corporations. [27:06] I ran a plan, or ran the plan through my company that I just stepped down MyPillow yesterday. [27:14] Everyone at MyPillow would save about 50% on their healthcare, what they have right now. [27:20] My corporation would save about 30%. [27:23] It's billions and billions of dollars across our state. [27:27] This is our biggest expense, and it affects everything. [27:30] When you talk about government's expenditures, it's healthcare. [27:33] Healthcare is a big expenditure. [27:35] You're giving everyone the healthcare in our government. [27:37] So this primary, direct primary care, it's amazing, especially for rural Minnesota, [27:44] and especially for the inner city, both of them, [27:46] because people are going to get direct care from their physicians that they didn't have before because of the deductibles that they didn't want to go take. [27:56] By the way, Governor Walts just approved this, that we could use this as deductibles, this primary care thing that I developed. [28:03] He approved it three months ago. [28:04] Or three months ago. [28:05] So we are in this situation in healthcare because of what politicians have done and what politicians haven't done. [28:16] We've been around long enough to always hear what we're going to do, what we're going to do. [28:19] But here's the reality. [28:21] We are forced into Obamacare. [28:23] They were passed by one vote when Norman Coleman lost his seat and Al Franken got the Senate seat, [28:30] and he cast a deciding vote for Obamacare. [28:32] When President Trump won in 2016, the key was we're going to repeal and replace. [28:40] We had the trifecta at the federal government to do that, and he got betrayed by our own party. [28:47] Right now, we have the same act. [28:50] We have a trifecta. [28:51] We're struggling to get that through. [28:52] My friends, this is why the delegates in the Republican Party wanted an outside candidate to get things done. [29:01] My running mate and I have never been in public office. [29:03] It's going to be record setting when we pass this. [29:06] In his role as a serial entrepreneur, he's been dealing with these healthcare costs for a long time. [29:11] So have I. [29:13] It is going to be a waiver that we're going to have, and we're going to get back to our mensure program that we used to have that was working. [29:18] Thank you. [29:21] Lisa, next question's for you. [29:23] We're going to stay on workforce and immigration. [29:26] Metro surge impacted our state greatly at the beginning of this year. [29:29] If you're governor and there's another immigration surge of officers, how do you lead? [29:36] As your next governor, the way that I look at the federal immigration laws is, first of all, I believe at a federal level, they desperately need changes. [29:46] There needs to be updating to our federal immigration laws. [29:50] But as your governor, I commit that I will support our federal immigration laws, regardless of who is in charge. [29:58] That is what I will be doing, is supporting the federal immigration laws and expecting those in Washington to finally do their jobs and make the meaningful changes that will make people safer, that will allow legal immigration. [30:14] You know, it could be something as far as, instead of seasonal workers, expanding that, looking at things. [30:20] But protecting our borders is what was desperately needed after the failed Biden administration. [30:28] We need to make sure that our borders of the United States and our state of Minnesota on the northern side are safe. [30:36] So I will support federal immigration and expect those in Washington to do their job and update our immigration laws. [30:43] Mike? [30:44] Well, first of all, you need to prevent this. [30:47] And on day one as governor, we're housing 1,400 felons, illegals that have committed felonies in our prisons at the cost of $110 million a year. [30:58] You cooperate with the federal government and you say, pick these guys up. [31:03] I've also, I've talked to him. [31:06] I also am going to enforce employers that are employing the illegals around the cities that are, they're employing them and they're seeding us out of billions or $1.5 billion in tax a year. [31:19] These jobs are for our legal citizens. [31:22] And then if they, if you cooperate with ICE and with our government, like other cities have, you're turning them in as you get them and they don't have to go door to door. [31:36] But if they did, there's another thing in Minneapolis. [31:39] Minneapolis has some of the strictest protest laws in the nation. [31:43] I will enforce them. [31:45] You don't get to commit crimes to protesting, period. [31:49] Kendall? [31:50] Yeah. [31:55] Kendall? [31:55] Well, they're applauding for me. [31:58] I have to let them stop. [32:00] Okay? [32:01] Well, guys, first of all, we do this. [32:03] The number one thing, this whole idea of a sanctuary city, sanctuary state would be eliminated. [32:09] That's number one. [32:11] We have one constitution, one rule of law. [32:14] We are a nation of laws or we are not a nation at all. [32:18] It starts right here with a new leadership. [32:20] Second is, we wouldn't have to deal with a metro surge because at the state level, we manage our own business. [32:27] We manage our own affairs. [32:28] And we make sure that those issues will not even rise to the surface of becoming a national embarrassment anymore. [32:35] So I'm not concerned about that, Bloyd. [32:37] But here's what I can tell you what's happening in our state with the legal limits right now. [32:41] They get better health care than the people that pay the premiums. [32:46] Therefore, they're actually, you can boo all you want because, look, you pay a copay, they do not. [32:51] It is true. [32:53] I got 15 seconds. [32:55] Listen, pharmacist told me that a Medicare patient didn't get her inhaler because she couldn't afford the copay. [33:02] But the person that came back right in front of her was an illegal immigrant or an immigrant that came in, got a refill, no copay, and wanted the rest of it shipped to Somalia. [33:14] Amy? [33:22] Amy? [33:22] I've long believed and supported funding for order at the border. [33:26] And I have worked well with law enforcement in Minnesota for years. [33:31] But what I know, I ran the largest prosecutor's office in the state and was endorsed by police many, many times. [33:43] So don't. [33:45] Number two, none of my opponents on this stage condemned what ICE did. [33:51] Not a word, not a word. [33:54] Two innocent people were killed, shot in the back. [33:57] We had many people arrested when they weren't supposed to be arrested, and we all know that, and we need reform to ICE. [34:06] We must have reform, and if anyone wants to see what happens, $70 billion into ICE, so it's bigger than the FBI now. [34:18] It's bigger than the Marines. [34:19] I did not support that. [34:21] I think that $70 billion extra should go to you for your health care. [34:26] That money should go to you for your housing, and it should go to you for your child care. [34:34] Time. [34:42] Okay, we had a half hour where everybody behaved very reasonably. [34:49] I started out saying let's behave as adults. [34:52] I would just remind you that again. [34:55] If it gets out of hand, we'll shut this down, and you won't get to hear any more comments. [34:59] So please respect and listen to the candidates that are up there, and give them all a chance to respond. [35:06] Thank you. [35:10] The more you cheer, the less we hear. [35:14] Next question starts with you, Mike. [35:17] Fraud has been a major issue in this state. [35:21] What are your first two things that you do as governor to fix Minnesota's issue with fraud? [35:27] Well, one of the things, fraud is the biggest blessing our state's ever had because it's opened our eyes to get rid of the current government we have. [35:39] Start with Keith Ellison. [35:41] Start with our governor. [35:43] Start with Ilan Omar. [35:44] Start with all this fraud and get rid of it. [35:48] That's the number one thing. [35:50] My lieutenant governor, Phillip over there, Phillip Parrish, he was a Navy intelligence officer, and we're doing a deep dive. [36:00] Call it Minnesota Doge, okay? [36:02] We're going to dig into every single program. [36:08] There's over 24 welfare programs and under 400 NGOs in this state. [36:13] We're going to go in and look at each one to see if there was fraud there. [36:17] They asked the other day when I was doing an interview, is Governor Walz doing enough? [36:21] And I said, isn't he in on it? [36:23] You know, yeah. [36:26] So we're going to dig deep, but also we're going to look at those programs, and we're going to look at them and make them just like you would look at it. [36:34] Are we getting a good return on our investment? [36:37] That means helping people that need the help. [36:39] So the fraud is our number one. [36:41] Time. [36:42] Kendall? [36:43] Yeah, this fraud issue is a leadership problem issue. [36:49] In the private sector, we call it embezzlement. [36:52] We know what's happening every quarter because of our financials, where the money's coming in, where it's going out. [36:57] We know that there's a discrepancy, an unusual discrepancy, the first quarter, the second quarter. [37:02] By the third quarter, there's an investigation. [37:04] Someone's fired, and they're either locked away in prison or they're doing some other type of correctional time. [37:10] That happens in less than a year, not eight to ten years. [37:14] We don't need a 23-year-old YouTuber to tell us there's something wrong going on. [37:19] So what would I do differently? [37:20] Number one, you hold people responsible that should have been responsible. [37:24] This is a dereliction of duty in the Army. [37:26] Okay, the guy at the top all the way down to the person who did it. [37:29] There needs to be accountability. [37:30] It's been eight to ten years that it's been going on. [37:33] The biggest issue is this. [37:35] We have mega spending bills that funded the fraud programs. [37:40] No more mega spending bills. [37:43] One single bill item at a time. [37:45] Vote up and down on those so we can have clear accountability because we have Republicans that have co-signed on these bills that started these fraud programs. [37:58] Senator Klobuchar. [37:59] The people of Minnesota were ripped off. [38:02] This was wrong, and it should have been caught earlier. [38:05] When I found out, I put more resources into the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I was the one that recommended Andy Lugar, who is a prosecutor, who exposed the fraud, and was the one that brought 70 of these cases. [38:21] My plan as governor will be to do this. [38:24] One, the minute I get in there, I will launch a top-to-bottom audit of state government. [38:29] I will root out the fraud. [38:31] I'm going to make sure that we're vetting all the contracts, that there are surprise inspections. [38:38] You can't do inspections by Zoom. [38:40] And I will use my experience of running the biggest prosecutor's office in the state and in the private sector for over ten years to get this done. [38:49] People who commit fraud should go to jail. [38:52] And while the criminal penalties were changed at the state legislature, we need to do more. [38:57] That includes extending the statute of limitations beyond Medicaid to other programs that were victims of fraud. [39:05] People were victims of this fraud. [39:07] The taxpayers were victims of fraud. [39:09] And I will make sure that people go to jail. [39:12] Lisa? [39:13] The explosive fraud in Minnesota is a direct result of incompetent Democrat control in this state for more than 16 years. [39:25] When I came into the legislature in 2019, fraud was something that didn't want to be talked about. [39:32] I carried a bill that would have said you had to have internal controls on child care centers that had CCAP dollars flowing to them. [39:42] I was told eventually that that was racist. [39:45] That is not racist. [39:47] That is fraud. [39:48] Let's make sure kids are actually there before people get the money. [39:51] As Speaker of the House, I established the Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee because no longer did I want Democrats in the state of Minnesota to be able to say that there was no fraud. [40:02] From there, we added whistleblower protections, the Office of Inspector General, and let me tell you one thing, $10 billion of fraud in the state of Minnesota, $250 million defeating our future, yet the state general fund account for agriculture here in the state of Minnesota is only $165 million. [40:26] We are out of balance and need a different direction at the top of our state. [40:31] Time. [40:31] Time. [40:31] Next question starts with Kendall. [40:38] As you look at property taxes, you look at counties, how do you modernize state government? [40:46] What can be done to modernize the administration and state government? [40:51] Well, that's exactly what outsiders do well. [40:55] When we take a look at our state government, we're operating like we have been in the 1960s and 70s. [41:00] When I talk to the folks that are on my agricultural advisory board, Dana Allen Tully leads that group, and I hear what PCA and DNR and the Department of Ag, all of those, it's such a bureaucracy. [41:18] They're duplicative in a lot of cases, so one of the things that we would do, we would start consolidating. [41:25] We don't need a separate PCA and DNR, I would consolidate those two, there'll be a lot of consolidation, number one. [41:32] But number two, coming from a customer-oriented background, sales and marketing at a local national level, do we look at moving some of these departments out of St. Paul into places like Wilmer? [41:44] Moving the DNR to Bemidji, because when you're closer to your customer, you get better service and they understand we're here to serve you, we're not here to serve the state. [41:55] That's how you do it. [41:56] Amy? [41:57] Sure. [41:59] Well, the first thing we need to do is to modernize our technology. [42:03] We literally have 40-year-old computer systems with flashing cursors, think like Oregon Trail Days. [42:11] A down payment was made at the legislature this last year, but it was just a down payment. [42:18] And we need to get our technology up to speed so it is as sophisticated as the fraudsters that were trying to rip us off and were ripping us off. [42:27] We need to update our technology so we serve you better. [42:31] Because when you apply for a permit, when I'm governor, you're going to get an answer with a deadline. [42:36] You're going to know when that deadline is and you're going to be able to track what happens. [42:41] To do that when everyone else is using phones to do most of their business and you have to go wait in line and take time off from your farm to go stand in line and figure something out, [42:51] we need to update that technology and the way we do business. [42:55] And if it doesn't get done by the deadline, you get your money back like Dom and House. [42:59] Lisa? [43:01] The modernization of our county social services program has been well out of date for over 30 years. [43:09] Green screens, spinning dials, yet that is what is required by the state for the county workers to do their work. [43:16] In 2023, we had an $18 billion surplus here in the state of Minnesota and we could have fully upgraded every county system as part of that. [43:25] That was not done. [43:27] Democrat control. [43:28] All of our taxes and fees in 2023 on top of that were also raised another $10 billion. [43:35] Still no modernization. [43:37] When we took the tie in the house, that was something that we insisted. [43:40] It was led by Representative Paul Torkelson from Brown County. [43:45] We were able to get that over the finish line and invest in the systems modernization with the caveat if there would be future surpluses, a portion of that will continue to go into IT modernization here in the state. [44:00] That is how we start updating our systems in the state of Minnesota. [44:04] Mike? [44:06] Yeah, this is exactly what I would do is what I had to do with my pillow over the last five years. [44:15] We run it off deviations and blocks. [44:17] It's communication with every department. [44:20] I don't, it's directly, I micromanage and macromanage. [44:23] And if I get a call, 300 people in my company have my direct number. [44:27] If there's a deviation over here in sector three, I need to know right away. [44:31] I'm making decisions based on that or if something's blocked. [44:35] So when getting in there, all these commissioners gone, they're all going to be held accountable in real time. [44:41] And you guys like, when you guys are, and each sector's, there's a little different problem. [44:47] The farmers have a problem right now with the FSA going there and you don't get the communication because a lot of them are gone because of what the federal government's done. [44:57] You don't have them there right now. [44:58] Well, I know a guy. [44:59] I have an advantage over everyone up here. [45:02] I can call up and work with the president of the United States to get these people back in for all of you. [45:08] So we have this communication. [45:10] And also, I'm very good friends with other governors that have set up other programs. [45:15] So I'll be reaching out to them like a businessman. [45:17] What has worked and what hasn't worked. [45:19] We need to revamp everything. [45:20] Time. [45:21] But it'll be done in real time. [45:22] Time. [45:23] Start with you, Amy, on this next question. [45:29] Minnesota now has more seniors than it does K-12 students. [45:32] Aging and the stress on the state budget will continue to grow as revenue stabilizes in state government. [45:42] How do you ensure that Minnesota can make sure that parents and grandparents can be close to home in rural Minnesota? [45:50] Sure. [45:51] So first thing, just since we're at Farm Fest, is making sure we support the next generation of farmers. [45:57] The average farmer's age is now near 60. [46:00] And so that young farmer's tax credit is going to be really important to allow some benefits for passing the farm on to young farmers. [46:10] I also think FarmLink has been helpful. [46:13] We've got to continue that. [46:14] And then making sure that we have mentors for young farmers that they go in. [46:19] Overall, in rural Minnesota, it's going to be the things that I've talked about and put out in my plans. [46:24] Making sure that we have got housing. [46:27] It's a huge problem. [46:29] And I truly believe we can do this with 100,000 new units. [46:32] Making sure that we bring down the cost of health care. [46:35] It's one of the reasons, by the way, I picked Ben Shire, whom I'm introducing before my husband, as my lieutenant governor, who is a great guy and he was the mayor of Fergus Falls. [46:46] And he's developed that waterfront in Fergus Falls and had a lot of success and started two small businesses with his wife, Tricia, and their five kids. [46:56] I'm going to live what I'm saying. [46:58] And that means making sure small towns can develop, that we keep our rural hospitals strong. [47:03] And that's not going to happen when my opponents, all three of them, have embraced Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill that cut Medicare. [47:11] Time. [47:12] Time. [47:17] Lisa, how do you ensure that aging services are available throughout the state? [47:23] Our seniors in Minnesota are the backbone. [47:25] They have been the ones that have brought us to where we are at in this state. [47:30] When I think specifically about whether it is in agriculture, wanting to pass on the farm to the next generation, or if it's in manufacturing, wanting to pass that on to the next generation and beyond, we have to, first of all, end the fraud. [47:45] That keeps costs down. [47:46] Stop with the mandates, because that will keep costs down and make things affordable. [47:52] Ending things such as the death packs, like we hear it, have it so high here in Minnesota. [47:58] The things that were threatened with the unrealized capital gains, and the mentality that Minnesota needs more from our people. [48:05] The government in Minnesota needs to be reduced, and I am willing to do that, and right size that government. [48:12] In addition, we have to have assisted living and nursing homes available in our communities so people can stay in their areas, surrounded by families, and pass on what is important from generation to generation. [48:27] And that is supporting it from the state all the way through. [48:31] Mike? [48:32] This is the direct thing that is in my plan that you'll see tomorrow, my budget at lyndalegov.com. [48:40] You guys, this is direct primary care. [48:43] It keeps your practice in your communities. [48:47] We're bringing down the cost of farming. [48:50] When you see the plant, the cost of farming, we're going to be going after the bottom line. [48:57] Going after the monopolies, the seed companies. [49:00] Going after the Monsantos of the world, the fertilizers. [49:06] I'm going head on with them to bring the farming costs down, and I'm not afraid of these giants. [49:12] And you do that, and you make it affordable to farm. [49:16] You make it affordable again. [49:18] Right now, it's the people that are not just leaving. [49:21] They're leaving our state, and businesses are leaving, but the farmers are hurt more than anyone. [49:26] You have to make it affordable again. [49:28] My whole plan tomorrow does that. [49:30] When you talk about property tax, one of the first things I want for seniors to get that eliminated. [49:35] You've already paid for your houses. [49:37] Time. [49:41] Kendall? [49:42] Yeah, so this goes back to the fundamentals again. [49:46] Radical change. [49:47] It's not tweaks that we need. [49:49] We have an issue here where the next generation of farmers, they're thinking, do I even want to get into this? [49:58] I am working hard as I ever can, and we're making less than we did 20 years ago. [50:03] You shouldn't have to sell part of your property to pay the taxes on it for the next generation. [50:11] That should be eliminated. [50:12] That should be eliminated. [50:13] That's what I would do. [50:14] Eliminate that inheritance tax. [50:16] The second is, make it more profitable. [50:19] One of the good things about farming than any other industry, when you're more profitable, you reinvest in your own communities. [50:27] You upgrade your equipment. [50:28] You upgrade your, not only your equipment, but also the properties that you have. [50:33] It is a win-win for everyone. [50:36] You can't do it when your margins are squeezed because of state requirements, state regulations, state mandates. [50:42] We have to make it more business friendly. [50:46] Lisa, we'll start this next question with you. [50:48] Minnesota has been a leader in biofuels and alternative fuels and growing them. [50:54] As governor, how would you make sure Minnesota stayed a leader in renewable fuels? [51:01] I had the honor just two weeks ago to be at the SAF in Invergrove Heights, that launching of the SAF program with diesel fuel and with the airline fuel. [51:13] And looking at how we can both bring certainty into the areas of agriculture, that also includes new markets. [51:20] We have to make sure that there are new markets here in Minnesota and in the U.S. and expand that. [51:26] One of the other things, though, that we can do is that getting more people into agriculture, of course, and making those benefits for the new farmers coming in, [51:36] those that want to pass it on, and not pass on the restrictions that we've seen so many times, [51:41] but also make sure that we can pass on the good things about the life in agriculture and make it profitable again in ways that we're not overtaxing it. [51:51] When I also think of our education and what we're doing in our schools to really develop the education, I think 4-H, FFA, all those programs that bring us forward, [52:03] that is what is going to help us develop those new markets and more progress and more opportunity for those in our ag communities. [52:11] Mike? [52:14] I'm going to explore everything we have. [52:17] We have so many resources in Minnesota from the mining in the north and to the farming in the south. [52:22] But one of the things, the first farmers I talked to last January, they brought up something we have here that we haven't used, [52:29] and that's sustainable aviation fuel. [52:31] We're one of the few states from Hastings all the way to the Minneapolis airport, there's already pipes there. [52:37] So I'm looking into that, and these are things as I didn't, last December when I announced I was running, I just wasn't out campaigning. [52:46] I've been meeting with people every day, including farmers, to say, what can we do when we get in office? [52:52] This is one area where I just touched the tip, but I guarantee the day I'm in office, we will use everything we can to maintain these and expand on our resources in Minnesota. [53:07] Kendall? [53:09] You know, the aviation fuel center that just opened up right outside of the metro, that's an exception rather than the rule. [53:22] But what we've had is other processing fuel facilities opt out of Minnesota because of the high permitting cost and time. [53:33] The cost of it, the tax, everything else that all of us know that makes Minnesota an anti-business state. [53:40] It is less to do with specifically around the fuel than it is the macro issues of business. [53:47] The margin, when you look at the financials of the differences between Minnesota and Iowa, the numbers tell the story. [53:55] It's a given. [53:56] The people would ask, well, why would you put it in Minnesota versus in other states? [54:01] Because that's what they're deciding on a daily basis. [54:05] Again, there's a reason why the majority of Republican voters want an outsider. [54:12] We've been promised things for over 20 years that we'd get things done, and we need an outsider at this time because this is our last chance to save Minnesota. [54:20] Amy? [54:21] Sure. [54:22] Minnesota, top five states for biofuels. [54:26] It's 10% of our fuel supply right now. [54:28] It couldn't be more important, and I will make that case as the leader on biofuels in the U.S. Senate. [54:34] I'll make the case because it's good for our national security and brings costs down at the pump as we can see what happened with the closing of the Straits of Hormuz. [54:44] We need more biofuels, not less. [54:46] I was there as well at the sustainable aviation fuel event. [54:50] I believe that we need to expand that even more. [54:53] Next market will be shipping. [54:55] There's a lot of gain for us with shipping. [54:57] I'm excited to work on that with the port of Duluth. [55:00] We also have infrastructure. [55:01] No one's brought that up. [55:02] Infrastructure at our gas stations. [55:04] Deb Fisher and I led that in the federal side. [55:08] We can do more with matching grants from the state to increase our infrastructure for biofuels, and as governor, I will do that. [55:16] We also are going to be able to do more with other kinds of crops. [55:20] Hemp. [55:21] I'm going back there to fight a fight on hemp right now that you don't even want to know about. [55:25] But hemp, when it comes to industrial hemp, is going to be very helpful. [55:30] There's also recreational to make sure we can expand that market in Minnesota. [55:35] Time. [55:36] So I just think the sky's the limit, and we've got to seize on these domestic markets. [55:39] Time. [55:40] We're going to move to closing statements, and we'll go down the line, starting with Senator Klobuchar. [55:50] Two minutes. [55:51] Okay. [55:52] Well, it is great to be back here at Farm Fest. [55:55] As I noted, I visit all 87 counties every single year. [55:59] I think some of the counties, I've literally met every person in them. [56:03] And that is when I hear about the challenges, and that is when I come back and work on solutions. [56:08] As one farmer said to me, soybean farmer, it's like a perfect storm of ugly, what they've been facing, with the war, with the tariffs that I strongly disapprove of. [56:20] We know there are headwinds, but they cannot be an excuse. [56:25] I am going to transform this state government, and I am someone that I think you know, when you put your trust in me, I'm going to go ahead and do the work for you, [56:35] because I've been there with you through good times and bad. [56:39] I have put out a rural plan that's real. [56:42] It starts with expanding domestic and international markets. [56:46] It goes into the needs that we have in rural that are so unique when it comes to health care and making sure our rural hospitals stay strong. [56:54] When it comes to having an actual commitment to housing and to making sure we have the workforce that we need. [57:01] Not one of my opponents on this stage has objected to those tariffs. [57:07] They've embraced them. [57:08] Not one of them has objected to the war in Iran. [57:11] Not one of them have objected to the big, beautiful bill and all the rural cuts. [57:16] We do not need a governor who is a rubber stamp of Donald Trump. [57:21] We need a governor. [57:24] We need a governor who is going to put you first, who's going to put Minnesota first. [57:32] And with my experience that I bring to this job, that is what I will bring to our state. [57:39] I see new opportunities and markets everywhere. [57:43] I don't just go where it's comfortable, I go where it's uncomfortable. [57:47] I like having debates with people about what's the best place to get solutions and get there. [57:53] That's why I've been able to get things done. [57:55] But when I see these markets, I believe we're only going to seize them if we get to a higher place, if we build trust. [58:02] That's why taking on this fraud, reforming our government is so important to me. [58:07] And I ask for your support and I am so excited to get to work. [58:12] So please join me. [58:14] Quiet, please. [58:21] Lisa, two minutes. [58:24] It's been my honor to be with you this morning as we've gotten to hear questions and share. [58:30] As a lifelong Minnesotan, a business owner, I'm married. [58:35] My husband Nick is someplace in the crowd. [58:37] We have four adult kids and seven grandkids who are all here in the state. [58:41] And I want to make sure that Minnesota remains strong and can actually have a comeback and become stronger and better than where we find ourselves today. [58:52] It is important to me that everyone in Minnesota, all parts of our state, has the opportunity to succeed. [59:00] And what will make that happen is an absolute culture change from how we have been led over the last 16 years. [59:09] That means a change from the top, an accountability within every part of the government, a right sizing of our government spending and the taxes that hit all of us. [59:24] My vision for Minnesota is once and for all ending fraud that has become what we are known for, and it is embarrassing. [59:31] It is lowering taxes, definitely improving our ag economy. [59:37] As I mentioned earlier, we're only spending $165 million of a nearly $70 billion budget here in the state of Minnesota. [59:47] We can invest more in our ag economy and support our communities across the state. [59:54] I want to make sure that our kids receive that education that prepares them for whatever is next. [1:00:01] Whether they take over the family farm, they go forward to become large animal veterinarians that we are so short of. [1:00:09] If we have those that are in manufacturing, our restaurants downtown, whatever it is, that they have that absolute opportunity. [1:00:17] How that will be done is certainty across the state that leadership at the top is for you, not working against you. [1:00:26] I'm a leader that has proven that I listen and learn to the experts that know what needs to be done. [1:00:34] It is my honor to be with you. Thank you very much. [1:00:38] Mike Lindell, you have two minutes. [1:00:40] You know, I've grown up in Minnesota. [1:00:43] When I was a teenager, I looked forward to every summer going down and farming with my cousin on my uncle's farm, walking beans, going to church every Sunday. [1:00:54] That's where I got my work ethic and my seeds of faith. [1:00:58] And as I lived in Minnesota here, I lived the American dream on steroids, going from an addict to fulfill the coming out of that to be able to fulfill the American dream, [1:01:08] build one of the biggest companies this country's seen, direct sales. [1:01:13] But I was at the Rose Garden, and I've seen what happens to our state. [1:01:16] This was right before the pandemic. [1:01:19] And the president let me get up and speak, and I said something off the cuff. [1:01:23] I said, a nation had turned its back on God. [1:01:26] We had taken God out of our schools. [1:01:28] I said, we need to pray for God's grace and get back in the word and spend time with our families. [1:01:34] I could have just well been talking about Minnesota. [1:01:37] This is a spiritual battle of evil and good of biblical proportions. [1:01:42] We have a governor that put a satanic statue in the governor, in the Capitol. [1:01:48] Put a satanic statue in there. [1:01:50] All the evil and the horrific things that we've seen happen as we watch our state just crumble. [1:01:55] And I will tell you this, is Amy on this stage, and we agreed, we agreed in 2020. [1:02:05] We came into a historical agreement on the election fraud. [1:02:09] She went after the machines. [1:02:10] She named them in the movie Kill Chain. [1:02:13] She named them, and she went after this fraud. [1:02:16] But then she stopped after the 2020 election. [1:02:18] What did Mike Lindell do since then? [1:02:20] I spent $80 million trying to secure our elections in this country. [1:02:25] What did Amy do since then? [1:02:28] Amy went to Washington, brings back $20 billion to our state, only to have it shipped off to Somalia. [1:02:36] That's not a good steward of our money. [1:02:39] Time. [1:02:40] Kendall Qualls. [1:02:42] Kendall Qualls. [1:02:43] Quiet, please. [1:02:44] Kendall Qualls, you have two minutes for your closing statement. [1:02:49] Sure. [1:02:50] I am honored to be here. [1:02:51] This has been the most humbling and honoring time of my life to represent the Republican Party here in the state of Minnesota. [1:03:00] Let me give you an idea. [1:03:01] Over the last 10 to 11 months, we've had 19 different forums just like this. [1:03:07] A crowded field of candidates. [1:03:09] Met all over the state. [1:03:12] And after each one of those, the participants in the audience got a chance to vote. [1:03:17] Who would you vote for for governor? [1:03:19] Who would you want to represent us and that could win? [1:03:22] I won 17 out of 19 of those. [1:03:25] And the 20th one was at the convention in Duluth. [1:03:28] At the end of that convention, as the reporters and everyone was feeding out, this one guy was standing there by himself, along with his grandson. [1:03:37] 92-year-old, sixth-generation farmer, he wanted to get a picture with me. [1:03:42] I said, sir, no. [1:03:44] The honor is mine. [1:03:45] I'm getting a picture with you. [1:03:47] What I am doing is helping to preserve the legacy of this great state and preparing it for future generations to stay here, live here, and invest here, and thrive here. [1:04:00] We've been hearing from politicians on both sides for 20 years what they're going to do. [1:04:06] The reality is we've become an anti-business state. [1:04:10] The Democrat Socialist Party is growing strong. [1:04:14] And unfortunately, in the Republican Party, when people leave the state, that's a decision based on where the Democrats have done and what the Republicans haven't done. [1:04:26] It's time to bring outsiders. [1:04:28] When I was on active duty as an artillery officer, when the conventional forces couldn't get it done, we brought in the special forces. [1:04:36] We brought in something different. [1:04:38] This is why we need different leadership in a state today. [1:04:42] I want to thank all the candidates. [1:04:48] I want to thank the Minnesota Foundation for Agriculture and Farm Fest and Kent for organizing these forums. [1:04:54] Kent? [1:04:55] Yes, thank you to all the candidates. [1:04:57] Thank you to the audience for being respectful. [1:05:00] And thank you to Boyce Olson. [1:05:02] Give Boyce a round of applause. [1:05:03] He did a great job.