Ben Schierer
Ben Schierer (Democratic Party) is running for election for Minnesota State Auditor. Schierer declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 11, 2026.
Schierer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2026
See also: Minnesota Auditor election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Minnesota State Auditor
Jay Reeves (Forward Independence Party) is running in the general election for Minnesota State Auditor on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jay Reeves (Forward Independence Party)  | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Minnesota State Auditor
Zack Filipovich (D), Adam Jennings (D), Ben Schierer (D), and Dan Wolgamott (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Auditor on August 11, 2026.
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for Minnesota State Auditor
Elliott Engen (R), Nate George (R), and Scott Jensen (R) are running in the Republican primary for Minnesota State Auditor on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Elliott Engen | |
 | Nate George | |
 | Scott Jensen | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ben Schierer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schierer's responses.
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- There is no office in Minnesota closer to local government than the State Auditor. We have an opportunity to elect a leader with a vision of how this office can help communities across the state move forward. I have a master's in public affairs from the Humphrey Institute and have been chosen as a Bush Fellow, NewDEAL Leader, and Presidential Leadership Scholar. All of that work was focused on local government and building relationships with local leaders across Minnesota to ensure that EVERY community has the tools and resources they need to thrive. We need leaders who understand that it is critical that we bring the voices of local elected officials into state policy decisions.
- The auditor oversees programs and serves on boards critical to communities and working families across Minnesota, including Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the Minnesota Housing Financing Agency.
There is no tool more vital to job creation and economic development for local governments than TIF. In Fergus Falls we revitalized our downtown, redeveloped blighted industrial sites along our riverfront, and repurposed the big boxes left vacant by national closures. TIF was critical to our success.
And there are living wage jobs across Minnesota that go unfilled because we don’t have the housing to support them. I know what it takes to get those projects done, and I want o ensure those programs work for ALL our communities. - As the DFL Party, if we want to be a party for the entire state, we must have candidates from the entire state who can connect with the voters we have lost as a party over the past few decades. We need candidates who have lived, worked, and served in the rural communities that feel abandoned by the DFL.
Fraud is unacceptable, and we need to stop it at every level of government. I have a plan for fraud based on what I've actually done as a small business owner and as a mayor. One part of that plan is to ensure a fraud hotline is available to the general public statewide and internally within local governments for public employees, so we can stop fraud on the front lines. That is not an empty campaign promise or a political talking point; that is what we did in Fergus Falls while I was mayor, long before fraud was in the headlines, because it’s what good government looks like.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
