Last Updated: July 9th, 2026
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has issued grades for the 2026 Governor’s race. Our connected political fund, the Minnesota Gun Owners Political Action Committee, has issued an endorsement in this race.
Our grades are based on a number of factors, including a candidate survey that was sent to each candidate, their public record of votes and statements, Second Amendment content on their website, and grades from like-minded, credible gun rights organizations.
All grading recommendations are reviewed and approved by our board.
Our candidate survey covers a range of gun rights topics, including constitutional carry, self-defense law reform (stand-your-ground), licensing and registration, universal background checks, the right to keep and bear arms, and related topics.
We have explained generally in our notes where we have lowered a candidate’s score based on specific survey answers or votes.
In order 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.
A qualifier of (P) is added for candidates who have not held an elective office and therefore lack an actual voting record that can be evaluated.
Our PAC only endorses candidates who receive an A- or higher, support our core legislative priorities of Constitutional Carry and Stand Your Ground, and request our endorsement in the survey process.
Candidates with a track record in office, such as a voting record and/or bill authorship, will also have their records taken into account for grading and endorsement purposes.
I'm a candidate and my grade is not showing
Please send us a copy of your survey to contact@gunowners.mn and we’ll review and post a grade quickly.
Governor
| Race | Name | Party | Survey | Grade | Endorsement | Notes |
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Steven Young & Jane Kirby | Green | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Loner Blue and Andrew Maass | MNGOP | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Lisa Demuth and Ryan Wilson | MNGOP | Y | A+ | ENDORSED | |
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Raul Estrada & Joe Kincaid | MNGOP | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | John Krhin & Dennis Conn | MNGOP | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Mike Lindell & Phillip Parrish | MNGOP | Y | A (P) | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Ross Nova & Kerry Busby | MNGOP | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Kendall Qualls & Brian Nicholson | MNGOP | Y | A (P) | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Bill Gates Jr. & Leah Harris | DFL | Y | B (P) | Bill Gates Jr. opposed most gun control but may support universal background checks. | |
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Amy Klobuchar & Ben Schierer | DFL | N | F | Amy Klobuchar supports bans on commonly owned firearms and other gun control measures. | |
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Koby Layne & Paul Ference | DFL | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Ole Savior & Ashley Johnson | DFL | N | ? | ||
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Po Vang & Mark Frascone | DFL | Y | B+ (P) | Po Vang opposes all gun control other than universal background checks. | |
| Governor & Lt. Governor | Mohammad Wazwaz & Murad Alshlool | DFL | N | ? |
2026 Governor Endorsement
We have endorsed Lisa Demuth for Governor and Ryan Wilson for Lt. Governor.
Grading & Endorsement Notes
Candidates who do not submit a survey are marked as such and graded on existing records and/or other public statements that they have made.
A (P) next to a grade indicates a provisional grade where the grade was based almost entirely on a candidate’s survey due to their lack of a public record/voting record on gun rights issues.
A “?” indicates that we did not receive a completed survey from the candidate.
Any candidate that accepts a donation or endorsement from an anti-gun organization will receive an automatic “F”.
I have a question or a comment about grades, endorsements, or a specific candidate
Please contact us at contact@gunowners.mn