Minnesota State Senate District 4 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Minnesota, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Minnesota State Senate District 4 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 4

Rob Kupec defeated Dan Bohmer and Edwin Dale Hahn in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rob Kupec (D)	52.5	15,929
		Dan Bohmer (R)	46.8	14,202
		Edwin Dale Hahn (Independent) (Write-in)	0.5	155
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	59

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,345
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Dan Bohmer (R)

We must address the high taxes we face.

Public safety is critical

We need to reign in the bureaucratic overreach we faced over the past 2+ years

Rob Kupec (D)

Ensure that all children have access to quality education from pre-K to college. Reduce reliance on property taxes and end systemic inequities in K-12 funding. Make sure that all children have access to healthy meals at school so that they can learn and thrive. Pay teachers, including those in early childhood education, wages that reflect the importance of their work. Invest in colleges and universities so that these are affordable and meet the demands of our future workforce.

Increase access to quality health care in rural communities to help seniors stay in their homes and ensure our small towns thrive. Our nursing homes and healthcare providers face staff shortages, and our aging population will lead to more strain. Support frontline healthcare workers and means for people to work in these fields in our small towns.

Protect family farms, which are vital to our economy and food systems. Help specialty crop farmers bring more locally grown food to our communities. Reduce barriers to their access to crop insurance. Support right to repair legislation to keep maintenance costs on equipment down.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Dan Bohmer (R)

Taxation, inflation, public safety and bureaucratic over reach

Rob Kupec (D)

As a meteorologist, climate change is an issue I have worked on and studied for a long time. Prolonged droughts followed by brief heavy rains that climate model predict, could spell disaster for farmers. Algae and invasive species from a warming climate threaten our water quality and native fish species. I would promote wind and solar energy and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. I would provide incentives to homeowners to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. We need to encourage investment in infrastructure to meet demands of more electric vehicles.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Rob Kupec (D)

I worked at Wendy's in high school and into my freshmen year of college, so for nearly 3 years. I started at $3.32/hr. It was hard work but we had a lot of fun too. The managers of the restaurant were outstanding, some of the best people I have ever worked for. I am still friends with some of them today.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Rob Kupec (D)

I would like to be part of the higher education committee, with 3 colleges in my district. I would also like to be on the agriculture committee.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Rob Kupec (D)

The current state senator for our is district is Kent Eken. He is retiring after 20 years of service in the house and senate. I think he has been an excellent senator, willing to work with both sides and really be a good representative for the our district.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Rob Kupec (D)

Yes, one of the things being a meteorologist has taught me is about consensus. When you take a group of forecasts from different meteorologists and average them out, it is often time the best forecast. I think public policy works the same way.

See also

More about these elections:

• Minnesota State Senate elections, 2022

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