Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate launched the Minnesota Freedom Caucus at a Monday press conference. The group mirrors the national House Freedom Caucus in Congress.
Back in 2015, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives created the House Freedom Caucus, an association of lawmakers who wanted to give greater voice to their conservative priorities and distinguish themselves as more right-of-center than their peers.
The House Freedom Caucus in Washington is not a breakaway group from the U.S. House’s existing GOP Caucus. Instead, the House Freedom Caucus is a sub-group within the House Republican Caucus that seeks to move the GOP in a more conservative direction.
In Minnesota, the newly-formed Minnesota Freedom Caucus is organized in the same way as its counterpart in Washington, a sub-caucus within the existing Republican legislative caucuses that seeks to give voice to conservative priorities.
Various sub-caucuses already exist in the Minnesota Legislature. For example, DFL state lawmakers formed the Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and the Minnesota Queer Legislators Caucus to represent the interests of those groups.
At a Monday press conference, State Sen. Eric Lucero launched the new Minnesota Freedom Caucus alongside the group’s six other members: Sen. Nathan Wesenberg, Sen. Bill Lieske, Sen. Michael Holmstrom, Rep. Drew Roach, Rep. Ben Davis, and Rep. Mike Wiener.
The Minnesota Freedom Caucus will be chaired by Lucero. Meanwhile, Wesenberg will serve as the group’s Senate leader, and Roach will serve as the group’s House leader.
“We are a unified bloc of principled conservatives from both the House and the Senate who refuse to compromise on the core values that built this great state: personal responsibility, free enterprise, safe streets, quality education without indoctrination, and the God-given rights enshrined in our Constitution,” Roach said.
Roach said the Minnesota Freedom Caucus wants to see an end to “massive omnibus bills,” “reckless spending,” and “wasteful fraudulent programs.”
Lucero said the caucus’ seven members are “just the founding members.” He noted that other lawmakers have expressed interest in joining, and he expects the group will grow.
Announcing the new caucus, Lucero was joined by Congressman Andy Harris, the leader of the House Freedom Caucus in Congress.
The Minnesota Freedom Caucus is a part of the national State Freedom Caucus Network, a collection of state-level caucuses that mirror the House Freedom Caucus in Washington. Minnesota is the 15th state to launch a state-level freedom caucus.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
