The General Board of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, the statewide federation of Labor Unions, made its first round of candidate endorsements for the Minnesota Legislature. The endorsed candidates have committed to standing with working people at the Capitol when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“These last two years were historic for working Minnesotans,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham. “From Paid Family & Medical Leave, Earned Sick and Safe Time, higher worker safety standards, infrastructure investment, increased investment in schools and public services, banning captive audience meetings at work, and expanding collective bargaining - Labor-endorsed lawmakers set Minnesota on its way to becoming the best state for working people.”
The legislative candidates endorsed are:
3a Harley Droba
3b Mark Munger
7b Lorrie Janatopoulos
8a Pete Johnson
8b Liish Kozlowski
11a Pete Radosevich
11b Eric Olson
14a Abdi Daisane
14b Dan Wolgamott
18a Jeff Brand
18b Luke Frederick
20b Michael Hutchinson
23a Joseph Staloch
24a Heather Holmes
24b Tina Liebling
25a Kim Hicks
25b Andy Smith
26a Dwayne Voegeli
28a Tim Dummer
28b Mary Murphy
32b Matt Norris
33a Jake Ross
33b Josiah Hill
34a Brian Raines
34b Melissa Hortman
35a Zack Stephenson
35b Kari Rehrauer
36a Janelle Calhoun
36b Brion Curran
37b Kristin Bahner
38b Samantha Vang
39a Erin Koegel
39b Sandra Feist
40a Kelly Moller
40b Curtis Johnson
41a Lucia Wroblewski
42a Ned Carroll
42b Ginny Klevorn
43a Cedrick Frazier
43b Mike Freiberg
44a Peter Fischer
45a Tracey Breazeale
45b Patty Acomb
46a Larry Kraft
46b Cheryl Youakim
47a Amanda Hemmingson-Jaeger
47b Ethan Cha
48b Lucy Rehm
49b Carly Kotyza-Witthuhn
50a Julie Greene
50b Steve Elkins
51a Michael Howard
51b Nathan Coulter
52a Liz Reyer
52b Bianca Virnig
53a Mary Frances Clardy
53b Rick Hansen
54a Brad Tabke
55a Jess Hanson
55b Kaela Berg
56a Robert Bierman
56b John Huot
57b Brian Cohn
58a Kristi Pursell
59a Fue Lee
59b Esther Agbaje
60a Sydney Jordan
60b Mohamud Noor
61b Jamie Long
62b Anquam Mahamoud
63a Samantha Sencer-Mura
63b Emma Greenman
64a Kaohly Vang-Her
64b Dave Pinto
65a Samakab Hussein
66a Leigh Finke
66b Athena Hollins
67a Liz Lee
67b Jay Xiong
The board is expected to make additional endorsements this summer as candidates continue to screen with their local Area Labor Councils.
“The Legislature’s work in 2023-2024 shows that when union members knock on doors, make phone calls, have conversations at work, and most importantly vote in support of Labor-endorsed candidates, we can make real change,” added Burnham. “We’re ready to bring that same energy to Labor 2024, Minnesota’s largest independent political program, to keep the working families majority in the Legislature, send Senator Klobuchar and Labor-endorsed Congressional candidates to Washington, and deliver Minnesota’s electoral votes to the most pro-Labor President in a generation, Joe Biden.”
The board took additional action, endorsing Rachel Bohman (CD-1), Kelly Morrison (CD-3), and Jen Schultz (CD-8) for the US House. At its meeting in March, the Minnesota AFL-CIO endorsed Senator Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Angie Craig (CD-2), Rep. Betty McCollum (CD-4), and Rep. Ilhan Omar (CD-5) for reelection.