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Ben Schwanke
Ben Schwanke (Republican Party) ran for election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 40A. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Schwanke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Schwanke was a Republican candidate in the January 10 special election for the Minnesota State Senate, District 59. The special election was called to fill the vacancy created when Lawrence Pogemiller (D) resigned to accept an appointment as director of the Office of Higher Education.[1]
In 2020, Schwanke participated in a Candidate Conversation hosted by Ballotpedia and EnCiv. Click here to view the recording.
Elections
2022
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 40A
Incumbent Kelly Moller defeated Ben Schwanke in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 40A on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kelly Moller (D) | 61.6 | 12,302 |
 | Ben Schwanke (R)  | 38.3 | 7,652 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 14 | ||
| Total votes: 19,968 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kelly Moller advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 40A.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Ben Schwanke advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 40A.
2020
See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Minnesota State Senate District 42
Incumbent Jason Isaacson defeated Ben Schwanke in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 42 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jason Isaacson (D) | 58.7 | 29,647 |
| Ben Schwanke (R) | 41.1 | 20,771 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 78 | ||
| Total votes: 50,496 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jason Isaacson advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 42.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Ben Schwanke advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 42.
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Campaign finance
2012
Schwanke was defeated by Kari Dziedzic (D) in the January 10 special election.[2][3][4]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ben Schwanke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schwanke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- With inflation out of control, we are taking home less money than we were a year ago. It is more important now than ever, that government waste is eliminated. With families struggling to just get by, our state should not be taking in a $10 billion surplus. As inflation increases, our sales tax automatically takes in more of your money and will disproportionately hurt our lower income families. In Minnesota we have the opportunity to make policy adjustments that will have an impact. We can start with repealing outdated laws such as the state requiring gas stations to make at least 8 cents a gallon profit over the wholesale price. I also am against the DFL proposal to increase the Minnesota gas tax up to twenty cents more per gallon.
- Crime is out of control, with a small portion of our population being allowed to terrorize our community. We need to be laser focused on violent crimes. For example, carjacking is not a defined crime in Minnesota. I will fight for passage of a law to make this a serious offense. Instead of continually letting violent offenders back into our community, we need to draw a hard line. While we all suffer from rising crime rates, our youth are especially affected. Whether they are being used by adults to commit crimes or if they are victims of violent crimes themselves, their future is bleak if we allow this to continue. We need to make Minnesota a safe place where kids can play in their backyards or walk home from school.
- As a teacher, I know that the Minnesota Public School system funding is unjust and unfair. The zip code where a child lives should not determine their value to the state. I will fight this immoral funding formula disparity between zip codes as they only create uncertainty for district operations. School funding formulas should be simplified and state mandates reduced. Local school boards and parents should be empowered.
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.
2020
Candidate Conversations
Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.
Click below to watch the conversation for this race.
Ben Schwanke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schwanke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Leadership: We need to end the partisan bickering, gridlock, government shutdowns, and expensive and unnecessary special sessions.
- Education: We need to formulate a plan for a safe and responsible reopening of our schools. In person contact is extremely important for our kids' social, emotional, and academic development.
- Public Safety: I support a common-sense approach to law enforcement: the primary responsibility of government is to ensure the safety of all its citizens. We cannot live in a society that looks the other way when riots break out, property is destroyed and government officials lack the courage to lead. The government's duty is also to respect the individual rights of each and every Minnesotan. Gaining trust is important for all communities. I will advocate for further education of incarcerated individuals. Also, it is our moral duty to assess and compassionately provide people with mental health resources.
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.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Minnesota House of Representatives District 40A |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Minnesota Office of Higher Education, "Governor Dayton Appoints Sen. Larry Pogemiller to Head the Office of Higher Education," October 28, 2011
- ↑ Star-Tribune, "Special elections set Tuesday," January 7, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota SOS, "UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: State Representative District 61B," accessed January 10, 2011
- ↑ Politics in Minnesota, "Dziedzic, Allen win Minneapolis special elections," January 10, 2012
