We’re less than a year out from Election Day, and candidates across Minnesota should pay close attention to the political warning signs flashing from recent Republican defeats in New Jersey and Virginia. Those traditionally blue states—much like ours—handed Democrats decisive victories for two simple reasons: Republicans failed to connect on the issue keeping families up at night, the cost of living, and fell back on the same old playbook of nominating career politicians.
This month’s off-year elections offered a clear preview of what’s coming next year. Republicans’ most promising candidates didn’t lose because of ideology; they lost because they ignored the issue hitting every household: affordability. Meanwhile, Democrats like Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey dominated by making the cost of living their north star. While Republicans skirted around groceries, utility bills, and the housing crunch, Democrats addressed them head-on—and voters noticed.
The old saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Thirty years later, the reality has evolved: “It’s the cost of living and affordability, stupid.” Democrats are winning because they speak directly to the economic pain families feel every day.
If Minnesota Republicans want to flip the governor’s office and break Tim Walz’s DFL stranglehold, we cannot afford to make the same mistakes again. Selecting a career politician from the state legislature as our gubernatorial candidate has failed Republicans for three consecutive cycles and it failed New Jersey and Virginia.
I’m not running for governor as a career politician recycling stale talking points or looking for a promotion. I’m a political outsider running to prevent Minnesota from slipping permanently into the one-party decline we see in places like California and Illinois.
I grew up in poverty. I know firsthand why we must keep the doors of opportunity open—where anyone can rise through merit and hard work. As an Army veteran and business executive, I’ve had to deliver real results—leading both small and large teams. In those environments, fundamentals matter. When objectives aren’t met, or when fraud occurs, people are replaced and consequences follow. Government should be no different.
Yes, many cost-of-living pressures originate at the national level. But Gov. Walz can do far more to reduce expenses, grow wages, and expand opportunities.
Research from economist John Phelan at the Center of the American Experiment shows the depth of Minnesota’s cost crisis.
“By nearly every measure, a new home in the Twin Cities costs more than those in every other comparable Midwest market,” he writes. “An average home in Lake Elmo, for example, would cost $47,000 less in Hudson, Wis., and a new home in the Twin Cities costs as much as $82,000 more than a similar home built by the same builder in the southwestern Chicago suburbs.”
Rising costs are driven by Minnesota’s regulatory and permitting burdens. These added costs come directly from DFL-driven mandates stacked up over decades.
To make matters worse, under Tim Walz’s tenure, household income in Minnesota has declined by 6.4% from $98,680 in 2019 to $92,350 in 2024. Only four states have performed worse on this measure over this period.
The proof is overwhelming: Tim Walz has failed Minnesota. His DFL trifecta has weakened our economy, made our communities less safe, and allowed our education system to free-fall. While he flirts with a 2028 presidential run, Minnesotans are struggling to survive.
On the campaign trail, I hear it every day. People want common-sense solutions: cutting red tape to make housing affordable, unleashing energy innovation to lower utility bills, and boosting take-home pay without growing government bloat. That’s why I’m running.
One year out, I’m focused on the issues Minnesotans care about most: affordability and unleashing the private-sector engines that help people, businesses, and communities prosper.
In 2026, Minnesota has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset and rebuild into a growth powerhouse for the next century. Let’s learn from New Jersey and Virginia: both states chose political insiders for governor—and lost.
This time let’s choose a different path. I’m running as a political outsider who lived the American Dream from poverty to prosperity, raised five kids with Sheila, my wife of 40 years, and want to see my grandchildren grow up in a stronger, more prosperous Minnesota.
I believe in a future Minnesota defined by innovation, new companies, and broad prosperity; a place where young families can stay, grow, and thrive. I believe in a Minnesota that we can all be proud of—filled with safe streets, premier schools, accountability and transparency, and an American Dream that is accessible for all Minnesotans. Because we will not be the generation that lost Minnesota. We will be the generation that saved it.
Kendall Qualls is a conservative candidate for governor, U.S. Army veteran, and former business leader. He is also the founder and president of TakeCharge, an organization devoted to uniting Americans of all backgrounds around a shared history and common set of beliefs.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not represent an official position of Alpha News.
