On Monday, October 31, at a rally with anti-choice extremist Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, conservative governor candidate Scott Jensen said he wants to turn Minnesota into Iowa.
And that would be a disaster for Minnesota.
Extremist conservative Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has done everything in her power to ban abortion and pass policies that put big corporations and the wealthy ahead of the needs of hardworking families. And Scott Jensen would follow in her footsteps and bring extreme and out-of-touch policies to Minnesota.
Here’s how:
Scott Jensen would ban abortion in Minnesota
Scott Jensen has falsely claimed that abortion isn’t on the ballot and that he couldn’t impact access to abortion as governor. But our neighbors in Iowa, who were similarly protected by the state constitution, saw their reproductive rights chipped away under Kim Reynolds’s leadership.
Conservative Governor Kim Reynolds appointed anti-choice justices to the Iowa Supreme Court. Those anti-abortion justices overturned the decision that made abortion a constitutional right, gutted protections for reproductive freedoms, and paved the way for the Iowa legislature to ban abortion. In addition, Reynolds has asked Iowa courts to reinstate a six-week abortion ban previously ruled unconstitutional, effectively eliminating safe, legal abortion.
And during a debate on October 17, 2022, Kim Reynolds advocated for an abortion ban so extreme that a pregnant third grader would be forced to give birth under her leadership.
Scott Jensen has clearly and repeatedly said that he would ban abortion in Minnesota if elected governor.
In an MPR interview in March 2022, Scott Jensen said, “I would try to ban abortion.”
Then, in a YouTube video posted by Scott Jensen in April 2022, he stated, “We’re going to ban abortions. That’s really not news.”
After that, in an interview with WCCO Radio in May 2022, Jensen confirmed that he would ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest. And in the same interview, Jensen said he would sign any legislation restricting abortion that would come to his desk as governor.
Jensen also received a 100% rating from an extreme anti-choice organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). He said on the campaign trail that he would rubberstamp their agenda and “sign anything that they [MCCL] said that we should do.”
Scott Jensen would put big corporations and the wealthy over the needs of working families
Conservative Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Scott Jensen both have clear track records of putting big corporations and the wealthy over the needs of hardworking families.
Governor Kim Reynolds allowed big corporations to steal over $900 million a year from an estimated 250,000 Iowa workers, stripped workers of their collective bargaining rights, and blocked wage increases for Iowa workers and their families.
Scott Jensen wants to eliminate the state income tax, creating a $15 billion hole in the state budget every year and benefiting the wealthiest Minnesotans.
The state income tax funds programs like early childhood and K-12 education, transportation, health care, higher education, and public safety. Jensen’s plan to eliminate the state income tax would require slashing funding for things like schools and health care, steep increases to sales and property taxes, or both.
Scott Jensen has also said that public education is “a black hole” and he would put “less money” into Minnesota schools as governor.
And as a state senator, Scott Jensen voted to underfund Minnesota schools and reduce access to pre-K for Minnesota’s youngest learners. And Jensen voted to give millions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest Minnesotans and big tobacco companies at the expense of schools and health care.
We need to hold Scott Jensen accountable
Scott Jensen threatens to bring extreme policies to our state that are dangerous for our families, schools, and communities. These extreme policies aren’t working in Iowa and won’t work here. Minnesotans deserve better.
Sign up to help us hold Jensen accountable.
