Overview
- Kendall Qualls is the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsed gubernatorial candidate and is campaigning as a business outsider who, he says, can change state government.
- Qualls disputes recent polls that show Mike Lindell at 35 percent, Lisa Demuth at 26 percent and himself at 11 percent, saying published surveys undercount his support.
- He defended his running mate’s presence at the Jan. 6 rally, saying the running mate left when events got “hairy,” was never charged and did not engage in violence.
- Qualls proposed market-driven fixes for rising health premiums, including carve-outs or waivers and direct patient access to physicians as ways to lower costs.
- The campaign environment features a crowded GOP field and questions about electability and party unity as candidates trade policy contrasts on the debate stage.