For generations, our state was a beacon of prosperity, innovation, and opportunity. We built world-class companies, maintained excellent schools, and fostered safe communities where families could thrive. That Minnesota – the state that dazzled the nation with its quality of life and economic vitality – has been slipping away slowly for nearly 20 years.
Last week, I announced my candidacy for governor of Minnesota because I refuse to stand by as our great state continues to decline.
At the heart of my decision is the oath I gave as a 19-year-old Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army to protect our country, my Christian faith to stand up for what is right and my devotion to my family and other families to make our state a place for our children to raise their family in a state they can be proud of. I find it abhorrent that so many Minnesotans feel they were forced to flee the state they love because of high taxes, rampant crime and substandard public schools.
My journey to this moment is anything but conventional; I wasn’t born into privilege or political connections. Just the opposite. I was raised in the projects of Harlem and later in a trailer park in Oklahoma, surrounded by poverty, crime, and limited opportunities. By all statistical predictions, I should have remained trapped in that cycle. But America offered me something powerful: a pathway forward through public-school education, personal responsibility and hard work.
I rejected the message that my circumstances defined my future. Instead, I became the first in my family to graduate from college, served proudly as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army, and built a successful career leading teams in healthcare and technology companies. The American principles that guided me, discipline, independence, accountability, and belief in human potential, are exactly what Minnesota needs and what I will deliver. I’m not a politician; I’m an experienced leader just here to serve my state.
Under Tim Walz’s leadership, our great state is struggling. His focus on bureaucracy inserting the government into families’ lives is making day-to-day decisions harder for families from the gas pump and grocery stores to where they send their kids to school. The financial picture tells the whole story: an almost $6 billion deficit where once stood a surplus, burdened further by $10 billion in new taxes. Murders are rising again in Minneapolis despite falling across the nation. Educational test scores are appalling. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, there are 68 percent of fourth graders who are not proficient in reading at grade level. That’s unacceptable.
As your next governor, I’ll restore something that’s vanishing in Minnesota: hope and a sense of pride in our state that has been absent for far too long. The belief is that through your own efforts and with a fair system, you can build a better life. My story wouldn’t be possible in the Minnesota that Tim Walz is creating – where victimhood is celebrated over victory, grievance over growth, and dependency over determination. But I know a different path exists because I’ve walked it. I am grateful to have made it here today, and I want to make success achievable for every person in Minnesota, regardless of their background. In November, America demanded that we return America to her state of success and prosperity; 77 million Americans voted for President Trump to reinstall America-first policies, strong national defense and less government bloat. Under my leadership, we can create a similar mandate here in the Gopher State.
Some say Minnesota is too far gone for Republicans to win statewide. They’re wrong. The electorate is changing. Just ask folks in Carlton County, who voted Republican for president for the first time since Herbert Hoover in 1928. Working-class Minnesotans across the state are rejecting failed progressive policies. With the right candidate, someone who speaks authentically to their concerns and offers real solutions, we can win. I am that candidate.
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I understand both struggle and success. I’ve led complex organizations through challenging times and emerged stronger, and I believe in Minnesota’s potential with every fiber of my being. And, like President Trump, I’m willing to fight tooth and nail to get our state back on track. This campaign isn’t just about defeating Tim Walz; it’s about reclaiming Minnesota’s promise for every family, every worker, every student, and every entrepreneur who calls this state home.
Join me. Together, we’ll write Minnesota’s next chapter – not as a story of decline managed by politicians out of ideas, but as an American comeback story that inspires the nation.
Kendall Qualls, of Medina, is a candidate for Minnesota governor, a U.S. Army veteran, and former business leader. He is also the founder and president of TakeCharge, an organization devoted to uniting Americans of all backgrounds around a shared history and common set of beliefs.
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