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My Point of View by Robert Hoffman

We are full swing into the new year and all our elected officials are off and running. For a short time they get to focus on their communities’ best interests and not running for office. For a very short time but this is the window to get important work done together now.

Freeborn County’s favorite up-and-comer Aaron Farris was out in Washington, D.C., to see all the excitement of Kevin McCarthy becoming the new Speaker of the now Republican-controlled House. At only 20 years old Aaron is the Freeborn County Republican’s vice chairman but is the chairman of the entire 1st Congressional District also. Aaron met with Kevin McCarthy and was in Washington, D.C., to support Congressman Brad Finstad and his swearing into his first full term as our U.S. congressman after also winning the special election earlier in 2022. Aaron bottled up his experience in Washington, D.C., and brought it right back to sunny southern Minnesota with him to help us with the best year we have ahead.

Nationally it is exciting to see the U.S. House of Representatives now controlled by the Republicans and to have our Republican Congressman Brad Finstad serving us in D.C. Meanwhile back at the ranch we re-elected our Republican State Sen. Gene Dornink to another term. Unfortunately, Senator Dornink is now serving in a narrowly Democratic-controlled state Senate. Gene will return to his southern Minnesota constituents from his sessions in St. Paul bruised and beat up in the new state Senate he serves in. With the state’s out-of-control violence and crime in metro Minnesota, it is more common than it should be to leave Minneapolis/St. Paul bruised and beat up than it should be thanks to the Walz administration’s soft-on-crime approach that is finding its way into Greater Minnesota more and more now also.

Sen. Dornink is not our only re-elected Republican sent to St. Paul to fight for us. State representatives, and teachers, Peggy Bennett (retired teacher) and Patricia Mueller each fought maybe their most hard-working opponents from Democrats yet this last election and each were re-elected handedly. In both cases it was these state representative’s largest election victories yet and against their hardest fought opponents.

State Reps. Peggy and Patty served in a Democratic-controlled state House their last term and are again these next few years. They will return from their fights in St. Paul to us in southern Minnesota as our re-elected Republican state representatives with the left’s mess of the metro on their boots, but they are very respected representatives and perfect for the job.

This week the local DFL is hosting a “Trifecta Party” because they now control the state Senate and state House as well as have Democratic Gov. Walz. (Let’s see how the state turns out after this “trifecta.”) This “control” may be the case statewide, but it does not reflect our southern Minnesota values. For the last two elections so far, not a single Democrat has won any election at all in Freeborn County. That’s not something to celebrate (unless you voted Republican.) The state’s far left Democratic views that have created the metro mess that plagues Minnesota and threatens to spread are not reflected by the greater Minnesota’s Republicans and levelheaded traditional Democrats alike, especially in southern Minnesota, Congressional District 1 and Freeborn County. We have a lot of work to do before it’s time to celebrate.

We are well represented by the local elected officials we re-elected to serve our southern Minnesota values and they have a lot of work ahead. We are blessed to have them fighting for us in Washington, D.C., and St. Paul, and they are blessed to have us here for them. May they all serve us the best they can in their legislative session ahead. We have a lot of work to do together these next few years. Reach out to us anytime to participate.

Robert Hoffman is chairman of the Freeborn County GOP Party.