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Questionnaires were emailed to the registered addresses of each of the 2022 state legislative candidates for senate districts 2, 4, and 5. Each candidate was given word limits for each response and nearly two weeks to return the questionnaire with a profile photos.
Dan Bohmer (GOP):
Name: Dan Bohmer
Age: 59
Hometown: Moorhead
Education: BSPharm – NDSU; Masters Strategic Studies – US Army War College
Family members (name/age): Ellen (wife), Justin Bohmer (son), Stephanie Jerger (daughter), Jake Jerger (son-in-law), Zachary (son), Kaylin (daughter), Alexa (step-daughter), Samuel (son), Jack (son), Maximilian (son).
Past offices held, if any: Moorhead City Council, 4-year term
Most recent employment: Cardinal Health Nuclear Pharmacy
What makes you the best candidate to represent the MNGOP in the upcoming November election?
As a lifelong resident of Clay County, I understand the unique issues facing the citizens of Senate District 4 and will be a strong voice representing them in St. Paul.
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I am the only candidate with experience that counts. With nearly 40 years in the US Army and over 30 years as a pharmacist, I have been leading people and solving complex issues most of my adult life. I have previously run a successful campaign, winning the election and serving on the Moorhead City Council.
In St. Paul, I will fight for the right to life, the right to bear arms and will vigorously support steps to protect the integrity of our elections and always stand in support of our police and other public safety officials.
What are the main issues you will focus on when you are elected to the Minnesota Legislature?
– Wasteful government spending.
– Excessive taxation.
– Excessive regulations, leading to bureaucratic overreach.
How would you describe your position on:
I am opposed to abortion except in cases in which there exists threats to the life of the mother, and in cases of rape and incest (reported to law enforcement).
The most important first step is to take action to correct the excessive collection of taxes which has resulted in the surplus.
The surplus should be returned to those that paid in, using the most cost-effective process to do so. We should not spend millions on administrative overhead, creating a system of issuing checks.
No. However, the undisputed fact is that the COVID pandemic opened the door to controversial changes in election administration made by partisan Secretaries of State, activist judges and through controversial executive orders. New, untested and unsupervised ballot collection systems were utilized in certain precincts and for certain voters, raising additional valid concerns. Changes to election law should always be debated in the legislature and not unilaterally imposed.
In Minnesota, we must ensure and mandate an equal number of election judges from both parties at each polling place, and when absentee ballots are processed and counted. Additionally, requiring photo identification to vote, as is required in most European countries, would substantially reduce the concerns many have with how our elections are administered.
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“Local government aid was started to help Minnesota’s rural and small cities compete in our over-regulated, Saint Paul-centric government. However in recent years the program has been changed and altered to benefit large cities like Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which already have an outsized influence on government. I support changing LGA to return money to the greater Minnesota communities.”
Edwin Hahn (GOP):
Name: Edwin Hahn
Age: 44
Hometown: Moorhead, MN
Education: Mechanical Engineering
Family members (name/age): Wife: Lisa Hahn
Past offices held, if any: City Councilman; Senator to American Legion Boys Nation
Most recent employment: Self-employed: wholesale and retail trade, design and manufacturing, certified welder, instructor, and FFL.
What makes you the best candidate to represent the MNGOP in the upcoming November election?
I am a statesman and warrior, not a politician, proven by my actions contesting the illegitimate 2020 election and fighting for our freedom during “covid” lockdowns/mandates. I organized our community to defend freedom at school board meetings, supreme court hearings, and city council meetings. At a 2022 Moorhead council meeting, I mobilized freedom fighters and sat mask-free in defiance against an unconstitutional mask mandate in the city, all while being bullied and shamed by elected officials. Working together with fellow freedom fighters, our tenacity prevailed, and the mask mandate was voted down that night. I am outside the political machine and am calling for the Republican Party of Minnesota to be held accountable to the hard-working conservatives of Becker and Clay. I am a Christian. I stand firm on moral principles and I do not cave to party politics, the DFL, or special interest money.
What are the main issues you will focus on when you are elected to the Minnesota Legislature?
The issues most important to my constituents include, defending ourselves from the political elite and government control, specifically the right to keep and bear arms, the right to life, and to protect our children from the harmful teachings and division of identity politics. We need to preserve and advance family farms, and keep farm profits at home rather than being burned up in over-the-top costs, regulation, or being taxed by St. Paul.
I will fight to make Minnesota a Second Amendment Stronghold and educate our communities about the purpose of the Second Amendment “being necessary to the security of a free State.” I understand the plain language of, “the right to bear arms, shall not be infringed,” is unlimited in defense against all forms of government becoming destructive to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and will work to provide civil and criminal penalties for any infringement, prohibition, or restraint upon our sacred duty to bear arms. Our traditional family values are under attack, we must declare parents the ultimate authority over their children. I support the right to life of the pre-born, bodily autonomy, medical privacy, health freedom, and oppose government mandates of any medical treatment or testing.
How would you describe your position on:
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Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is a brand new abortion clinic being planned in Clay County. As your state senator, I will fight like hell to make sure this clinic is stopped.
Under no circumstances should murdering babies be allowed. An emergency decision to save the baby or mother’s life should be taken on a case-by-case basis. The public treasury is not to be used to take innocent lives or fund unethical bio-research and organ harvesting (de-fund Planned Parenthood). Taxpayer dollars should not pay travel costs, time off work, nor childcare for mothers seeking an abortion.
Send the money back to taxpayers and let them decide how to spend it.
I spent five months in the courts contesting the 2020 election. Because of what we found during discovery, we know the election was illegitimate. Minnesota election officials received $7.1 million from Mark Zuckerburg’s foundation, favoring DFL candidates. Those who voted by mail looked up their ballot and many found that it didn’t count. Election integrity was corrupted in the name of “covid.” Judges and Secretary of State Steve Simon cut deals, and made unconstitutional election laws without going through the House and the Senate.
The 2020 election was stolen from We the People. The voices of Minnesotans were silenced by the relaxing of absentee ballot witness and signature requirements. Minnesota was flooded with a record 1.9 million absentee/mail-in ballots and voting data was tampered with behind the scenes. Our elections were never forensically audited (in any county) and cast vote record (CVR) reports were turned off in many counties.
To secure our elections, we must remove absentee and mail in voting except for distant military and sick, ban electronic voting machines, and “vote Amish” with paper pollbooks and hand tallying paper ballots at the precinct level. This way 2022 and 2024 will be free, fair, and transparent.
I am fighting for the voice, values, and interests of the people of Becker and Clay counties, not special interests from the Twin Cities metro. I have the courage to stand for our family values, protect our farmers, and prosper our great northern land. Metro expenses need to stay in the metro, and greater Minnesota should not carry the burden of terrible DFL policies, like the destruction from BLM looting and riots, the rampant increase in violent crime and drugs, and light rail. Local projects should be separate and not buried in 1,000 page omnibus bills with nefarious agendas.
Rob Kupec (DFL):
Name: Rob Kupec
Age: 53
Hometown: Moorhead
Education: BS Atmospheric Science
Family members (name/age): Wife: Deb/55 Son: Quinn/24
Past offices held, if any None
Most recent employment: Chief Meteorologist at Heritage Insurance
What makes you the best candidate to represent the MNGOP/MNDFL in the upcoming November election?
This district has been well served by Sen. Kent Eken and I want to continue his good work of serving its residents and finding compromise and common ground. Now more than ever we need to work together across party lines and build consensus. In this time of divided and divisive politics I feel this is needed to bring us together and help us govern effectively.
What are the main issues you will focus on when you are elected to the Minnesota Legislature?
Most important to me is being a strong voice in St. Paul for the needs and concerns of people in the fourth district. My priorities include making sure our schools are properly funded by the state and to alleviate the burden of property taxes.
Before the pandemic we already faced a shortage of healthcare workers at our local hospitals and nursing homes, and that has only increased. An aging baby-boomer population will only make the situation worse. We need to encourage new people into healthcare professions and retain current workers. We need to increase investment in public safety to help our local law enforcement agencies recruit and retain officers. This includes supporting mental health counseling for police officers in greater Minnesota.
We have a shortage of affordable housing throughout our region. By investing state funds and making sure our regulations allow building to be affordable, we can help alleviate this problem. The drop in family farms in our area over the last 10 years is alarming. We need to support our small farmers and make it easier for new farmers to get started.
How would you describe your position on:
The difficult decision to have an abortion should be decided between a woman and her doctor. We should instead prioritize programs that reduce the number of abortions such as improving access to health care, contraceptives, paid family leave, and child care.
The current framework that was agreed upon this legislative session but not passed, is a good one. It includes significant investments in education and tax relief, including eliminating the tax on social security and reducing property taxes. It also allotted more money for public safety and critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs. It additionally saves money for potential future budget shortfalls. I encourage our current leaders to call a special session to get this budget passed to fund needed programs in our state and provide tax relief to all Minnesotans.
There is no credible evidence to show that the 2020 election was stolen. Election officials from both parties across the county have concluded the election was fair. Over 50 lawsuits that were filed claiming election irregularities were dismissed or overturned. Overall Minnesota does an excellent job of conducting elections and I do not see a need for any significant changes. We do need to keep up with our security systems to prevent foreign governments and hackers from interfering.
Local government aid helps keep our property taxes down. I support the $90 million increase proposed by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. There has been no change to the formula that calculates local government aid since 2013. I support changes proposed by the League of Minnesota Cities to amend that formula, that would benefit our smaller cities.
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