Freedom only matters if it’s real, protected, and available to everyone.  That means having control of your own body and personal decisions, feeling safe in your home and community, and trusting that our democratic systems are fair, secure, and worthy of participation.  These ideas are deeply connected to each other.  Each of us exercises freedom in our lives differently.  When bodily autonomy is undermined, economic security is threatened.  When families are left unprotected from violence, freedom becomes fragile.  And when trust in elections erodes, democracy itself is at risk.  My vision is rooted in a simple belief: the government should protect people’s rights, safety, and privacy…not politicize them or use them as leverage.  Our job in Minnesota is to focus on safeguarding personal freedom, strengthen public safety in meaningful ways, and ensure our democratic institutions remain strong, transparent, and accountable to the people that they serve.

Bodily Autonomy and the Right to Privacy

I believe that essential health care decisions belong to patients and their medical providers.  Full stop.  Women’s health care and gender-affirming care must be guided by the patient and their clinicians, not by politicians inserting ideology into exam rooms.  From the state legislature, we have a clear responsibility to protect that freedom.  That means strengthening Minnesota’s statutory protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care, shielding providers and patients from out-of-state legal attacks, and ensuring that no one’s private health data can be used to surveil, criminalize, or intimidate them for seeking care.  It also means investing in provider capacity so access is real across the state and ensuring insurance coverage keeps pace with medically necessary care.  When bodily autonomy is protected, people can plan their families, maintain their health, and participate fully in the workforce and their communities.  Freedom means trusting people to make decisions about their own bodies and futures, and I will use every tool available at the state level to defend that right for women, trans Minnesotans, and anyone whose care has been politicized.

Protecting Kids and Families from Violence

Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community, at home, and on the street.  In Minnesota, too many families are living with the threat of violence every day.  To protect kids, parents, and neighbors, we need a holistic approach that combines prevention, support, and accountability.  At the state level, that means fully funding shelters and legal aid so survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence can escape danger without facing financial ruin.  It means protecting strong paid leave so employees can seek safety, care for children, or recover without risking their livelihood.  We must fully implement Minnesota’s Red Flag Laws by investing in statewide training so law enforcement knows how and when to use this life-saving tool to temporarily remove firearms in high-risk situations and protect the people that they are sworn to serve.  We need to tighten supervision and intervention for repeat offenders, not as punishment alone, but because it is a path to interrupt cycles of harm.  These are not abstract ideas.  They are practical, evidence-based public safety measures the legislature can take now to protect families, reduce trauma and build stronger, safer communities for everyone.

Defending the Freedom to Vote

Never before has it been more clear that a healthy democracy only works when people can participate freely and trust the outcome.  And right now, that trust is being deliberately undermined across the country.  We’ve seen a wave of legislation in other states designed to make voting harder, limit who can participate, and inject partisan interference into election administration.  Minnesota must remain a firewall against those efforts.  That means protecting early voting and same-day registration, rejecting voter suppression tactics disguised as ‘security’, and keeping our elections firmly in the hands of the trained, nonpartisan professionals.  We also need continued investment in cyber and physical election security, transparent post-election audits, and clear public reporting so that confidence is built on facts.  Defending democracy requires vigilance and action.  I will fight to ensure Minnesota does not follow states that restrict access and politicize the act of voting.  We should continue to lead by proving that secure elections and broad participation go hand-in-hand.

A State Where Rights are Protected and Democracy Works

It is clear that freedom, safety, and democracy are not abstract ideals.  They are the conditions that allow people to live full, secure, flourishing lives.  Minnesota has a proud history of standing up for personal liberty, protecting communities, and running elections that people trust.  My commitment is to keep that promise strong in the face of growing national pressure to divide, restrict or intimidate.  By defending bodily autonomy and privacy, taking real action to prevent violence, and safeguarding access to the ballot, we can prove that a government rooted in respect and accountability still works.  This is how we protect our neighbors, strengthen our communities, and ensure Minnesota remains a place where freedom is real, safety is shared, and democracy belongs to all of us.