Eleven Republican candidates for governor participated in a Thursday debate hosted by the Scott County GOP. While billed as a debate, the event was more akin to a forum with each candidate being asked the same questions one-by-one.
The 11 participants were State Rep. Peggy Bennett, Speaker Lisa Demuth, activist Raul Estrada, ex-State Sen. Scott Jensen, ex-city councilor Jeff Johnson, ex-CEO Patrick Knight, retired UFC fighter Brad Kohler, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, attorney Chris Madel, retired Naval intelligence officer Phillip Parish, and businessman Kendall Qualls.
State Sen. Bill Lieske served as the moderator and asked questions written by the Scott County Republican Party. Between the candidates themselves, the event was civil, if not downright chummy, as they made their pitches to be the next governor of Minnesota.
Demuth, the highest-ranking Republican in Minnesota’s state government, used her time to speak about how she ended state-funded healthcare for illegal alien adults and has blocked votes on gun control. Demuth was first elected House speaker in 2025.
Asked about the large growth in Minnesota’s state budget, Demuth slammed Democrats and said “the state budget has exploded, but under my leadership and House Republicans, this year we were able to reduce the spending in the state budget by $5 billion.”
Further, Demuth told the gathered crowd that she would “end the tax on Social Security” and lower personal and corporate income taxes. She also noted that she would not send unfunded mandates to local units of government that increase property taxes.
Meanwhile, Madel touted himself as an outsider who has won throughout his legal career and will win the general election. A prominent trial attorney, Madel successfully defended State Trooper Ryan Londregan and has represented Alpha News in multiple cases.
“When Tim Walz became governor in 2019, the budget was $43.1 billion; today, it’s $64.89 billion,” Madel said. “That’s [a] 79.9% increase in the budget. And let’s be real here, this happened also while Republicans were there.”
Madel said he wants to give a tax cut to the middle class and get the state budget down to $45 billion. He also proposed a freeze on property taxes for seniors, “so you’re not repeatedly buying your house over and over again.”
At yesterday’s debate, Qualls said he was the only candidate who is abiding by the GOP endorsement. A former business executive and U.S. Army veteran, Qualls previously sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2022.
Speaking about his opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion, Qualls said, “As citizens in this country, you shouldn’t have to pay for something out of your tax dollars that’s misaligned with your religious beliefs. And if we need to challenge it in the Supreme Court, we’ll do it.”
Additionally, Qualls told the audience he would support a school vouchers program to give students access to other educational options. He also denounced ethnic studies and DEI in schools as “Marxism and socialism.”
All of the candidates spoke out against Minnesota’s massive fraud problem.
Surprisingly, not one question was asked about the federal immigration enforcement efforts that are occurring in Minnesota. Those efforts, which are fiercely opposed by Democrats, have quickly gained national attention.
After the event ended, an informal straw poll of attendees was taken which gauged support for the candidates. Demuth placed first with 26% (77 votes), Madel was second with 20% (56 votes), and Qualls was third with 19% (54 votes).
Lindell placed fourth with 10% (28 votes), and Jensen was fifth with 8% (22 votes). All of the remaining candidates received 11 votes or less.
The full debate, which was livestreamed by Alpha News, is available here.
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.
