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The trusted voice of Minnesota's Gun Owners to Defend and Restore the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Candidate Grading & Endorsement Overview

Note:  These grades were for the 2022 Primary Election.

See our final grades & endorsement for the 2022 General Election for Governor.

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus grades candidates for Minnesota’s Constitutional Offices, including Governor.  Our connected political fund, the Minnesota Gun Owners Political Action Committee endorses candidates. These organizations share the same leadership and Board of Directors.

At this time, the Minnesota Gun Owners PAC will not be endorsing any Governor candidates prior to the party endorsement and/or primary processes – however, we have chosen to issue candidate grades.

We issued surveys to all candidates in the race that had a properly constituted campaign committee with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board as of June 2022.

Our grades are based on several factors, including a candidate survey that was sent to each candidate, their public record of votes and statements, and grades from like-minded gun rights organizations. All grading recommendations are reviewed and approved by our board.

To receive a grade of A- or higher, a candidate must support all of our legislative priorities, including Stand your Ground and Constitutional Carry, and must oppose all gun control legislation. Our PAC only endorses candidates who receive the grade of A- or higher, support our core legislative priorities of Constitutional Carry and Stand your Ground, and asks for our endorsement in the survey process.

An individual without a track record in legislative office or as a Constitutional officer in Minnesota will be designated with a (P) indicating that their grade is primarily based on their survey results as they do not have a voting record to point at.

Read our full Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

2022 Governor Candidate Grades - Primary Election

Name

 Party Grade Returned Survey Legislative Vote Score Sponsored Gun Control

Michelle Benson

 GOP A Yes 100%

No

Paul Gazelka

 GOP A Yes 100% No

Scott Jensen

 GOP ? Yes 100%

Yes
Scott Magie GOP A (P) Yes N/A

N/A

Mike Murphy

 GOP A (P) Yes N/A

N/A

Kendall Qualls

 GOP A (P) Yes N/A

N/A

Neil Shah

 GOP A (P) Yes N/A

N/A
Tim Walz DFL F No N/A

N/A

Grading Notes

  • We did not receive a survey from Tim Walz.  His grade reflects his record as Governor where he has called for multiple gun control measures in Minnesota.
  • Michelle Benson, Paul Gazelka, and Scott Jensen served in the Minnesota Senate.  Each has a 100% lifetime voting record on Second Amendment legislation.  This score does not reflect sponsorship of any legislation.
  • Michelle Benson, Paul Gazelka, Neil Shah, Mike Murphy, Scott Magie, and Kendall Qualls all dropped out of the Governor’s race prior to the filing deadline.
  • No other candidates have returned surveys.
  • As a Senator, Scott Jensen co-authored two gun control bills in 2018, later removing his authorship from one of them. See our full notes below.
  • Scott Magie, Mike Murphy, Kendall Qualls, and Neil Shah have not held office as Constitutional Officer or legislator in Minnesota and received (P) designations indicating their grades as “provisional” per our Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

Dr. Scott Jensen (GOP): ?

Dr. Jensen submitted a survey that reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

However, Dr. Jensen has a mixed record on the Second Amendment in Minnesota:

  • In the 2016 election, he sought the endorsement of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus & PAC by submitting a survey in which he pledged to work with our organization and oppose gun control legislation like Universal Background Checks.
  • In 2018, following the tragedy at Parkland, he co-authored and introduced two gun control bills in the Minnesota Senate along with two Senate DFL Leaders.
  • At a press conference on March 12th, 2018, Jensen made a number of statements, including:
    • “I don’t think I’m going to lose my seat over this issue. But if I do, que sera.”
    • “I have a permit to carry. I don’t dare trust myself. I think I probably shoot my foot off, but I do have the ability to do it because I wanted to learn what you have to go through in order to have a permit to carry. “
    • “I object to the constitutional carry because I don’t want other states doing an end around. We’ve got good strong standards if you’re going to get a permit to carry. I want to see those preserved.”
    • “Absolutely, I may have changed what I wrote on a form two years ago before I’d ever had a public debate. How many shootings have taken place since then? Am I a person that will try to take in the data and feel the rhythm of life around me and let that influence how I view the world? For sure. I don’t think I betrayed anybody.”
  • A few days later, Jensen’s bills were lauded by Michael Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action and Everytown gun control groups.
  • Following the introduction of his legislation, he published an op-ed column in the Sun Patriot explaining his gun control legislation and calling for a form of gun violence restraining orders (aka Red Flag Gun Confiscation OrdersS)
  • On May 1st, 2018, under pressure from our organization and others, he removed himself from the Universal Background Check Bill, SF 3279, but never removed himself from the other gun control bill.
  • Even in 2019, he was photographed with Moms Demand Action activists at the Minnesota State Capitol.
  • But later in the 2019 session, he co-authored SF 1262, a Stand Your Ground Bill.
  • As a candidate in the 2022 Governor’s Race, Senator Jensen has made strong statements in support of the Second Amendment.
  • Now, in 2022, he’s seeking our endorsement again, offering an explanation for his 2018 legislation as a part of his 2022 survey.

We’re appreciative that as a State Senator, Dr. Jensen reversed his position on at least one of the two gun control bills that he filed in 2018, but it’s difficult for us to understand his true position on the Second Amendment given his earlier pledges and surveys and his later actions.

Because of this, we have chosen to award Dr. Jensen a “?” for his race for Minnesota Governor and have created a factual website with details and source documents on Dr. Jensen’s record on the Second Amendment.

We stand by our statement at the time of his support of gun control as a Senator that Dr. Jensen is no longer eligible for endorsement by our organization. Voters will have to decide whether or not to trust Dr. Jensen with their Second Amendment rights.

Visit Scott Jensen on Guns

References

Paul Gazelka: A

Senator Paul Gazelka has a lifetime 100% voting record as a Minnesota Senator on Second Amendment legislation. He has chief authored and co-authored several pro-Second Amendment bills.

His survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Senator Gazelka an “A” for his race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Michelle Benson (GOP): A

Senator Michelle Benson has a lifetime 100% voting record as a Minnesota Senator on Second Amendment legislation.

Her survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Senator Benson an “A” for her race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Scott Magie: A

Scott Magie has not previously held elected office in Minnesota as a Constitutional Officer or Legislator and therefore has received a (P) designation indicating his grade as “provisional” per our Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

His survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Mr. Magie an “A (P)” for his race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Mike Murphy: A (P)

As Mayor of Lexington, Mike Murphy made his city a Second Amendment Sanctuary City.

Mike Murphy has not previously held elected office in Minnesota as a Constitutional Officer or Legislator and therefore has received a (P) designation indicating his grade as “provisional” per our Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

His survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Mayor Murphy an “A (P)” for his race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Kendall Qualls: A (P)

Kendall Qualls has not previously held elected office in Minnesota as a Constitutional Officer or Legislator and therefore has received a (P) designation indicating his grade as “provisional” per our Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

His survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Mr. Qualls an “A (P)” for his race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Dr. Neil Shah: A (P)

Dr. Neil Shah has not previously held elected office in Minnesota as a Constitutional Officer or Legislator and therefore has received a (P) designation indicating his grade as “provisional” per our Grading & Endorsement Criteria.

His survey reflects complete alignment with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus positions on pro-gun rights and anti-gun legislation, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry.

We have awarded Dr. Shah an “A (P)” for his race for Minnesota Governor.

References

Tim Walz: F

Prior to running for Minnesota Governor in 2018, Tim Walz was a highly-rated pro-Second Amendment legislator with a 100% voting record on gun rights issues.  He switched to a strong anti-gun position when he ran for Governor and endorsed Red Flag Gun Confiscation Orders, Universal Gun Registration, magazine restrictions, bans on commonly-owned sporting rifles, and more.

Governor Walz did not return our survey.

We have awarded Governor Walz an “F” for his race for re-election as Minnesota’s Governor.

References

2022 MN Gun Owners Caucus Gubernatorial Forum

The 2022 MN Gun Owners Caucus Gubernatorial Forum was held on Saturday, January 15th, 2022 in Mounds View, MN. All candidates that met our criteria were invited and participated with the exception of Governor Tim Walz who did not accept our invitation.