Eric Leitzen

Eric Leitzen (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 26B. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 13, 2024.

Biography

Eric Leitzen was born in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. He earned a bachelor's degree from Carthage College in 2007. Leitzen's career experience includes working as a substitute teacher, as a president with Southeast Minnesota Historic Bluff Country, and as an overnight bread packager with Fayze's Restaurant and Bakery in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2012 to 2013. He has served as a treasurer with the city clerk's office in Hokah, Minnesota from 2015 to 2019. He served with the director of tourism office in Lanesboro, Minnesota in 2015. He has been affiliated with the Green Party of Minnesota, with the Democratic Socialists of America, and with the Movement for a People's Party.^[1]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Incumbent Greg Davids defeated Allie Wolf in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Greg Davids (R)	63.3	15,714
	Allie Wolf (D)	36.4	9,044
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	59

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,817
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Allie Wolf defeated Eric Leitzen in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Allie Wolf	81.8	1,458
	Eric Leitzen	18.2	325

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,783
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Incumbent Greg Davids defeated Gary Steuart in the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Davids	52.7	1,933
	Submit photo	Gary Steuart	47.3	1,733

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,666
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Leitzen in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 26

Incumbent Jeremy Miller defeated Daniel Wilson and Eric Leitzen in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 26 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeremy Miller (R)	58.3	21,444
	Daniel Wilson (D)	38.8	14,280
	Eric Leitzen (Legal Marijuana Now Party)	2.9	1,060
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	9

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,793
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Daniel Wilson advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 26.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jeremy Miller advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 26.

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election

The Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election was canceled. Eric Leitzen advanced from the Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for Minnesota State Senate District 26.

Campaign finance

2020

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 28

Incumbent Jeremy Miller defeated Sarah Kruger and Eric Leitzen in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 28 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeremy Miller (R)	57.7	24,811
	Submit photo	Sarah Kruger (D)	42.2	18,171
		Eric Leitzen (G) (Write-in)	0.0	3
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	48

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,033
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Sarah Kruger advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 28.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jeremy Miller advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 28.

Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Eric Leitzen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Eric Leitzen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Eric Leitzen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leitzen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

For almost 50 years, you have worked harder and done more with less, while those at the top have gotten more and more.

That's your money.

You worked for it, you deserve it.

Leitzen 2020 is a campaign to Soak The Rich and Get Your Money Back.

I'm an old-school, Farmer-Labor candidate in the tradition of Olson, Mondale, McCarthy, Anderson and Wellstone. If things are going to start getting better for the working people of Minnesota, someone's going to have to stand up and start fighting to fix this broken system.

I'd gladly put everything on the line for Bluff Country, because there's no other place I want to raise my family.

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?

Soak The Rich - higher taxes on the highest earners
Get Your Money Back - higher wages, guaranteed healthcare, clean water, dependable shelter, better schools, stronger bridges, renewable energy, and more.
Interstate Cooperation - formal or informal agreements against likeminded states to enact similar policies so the oligarchy has nowhere to hide.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Tax Policy: we need to tax the rich at rates that brought us the most prosperity for the working classes from the 1950s-1970s

Local politics: We need to break the hold of local oligarchs over our small towns that have essentially become company towns.

Sewer Socialism: we need to reinvest money in guaranteeing clean water and reliable sewer systems for all.

School Reform: We need to return to the Minnesota Miracle of revenue sharing to ensure every student gets the same quality educational experience both inside and out of the metro areas.

Guaranteed Basic Needs: nutritious food, clean water, dependable shelter & healthcare.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Bernie Sanders, for many reasons.

He stuck to his arguments, not being an opportunistic careerist of a politician, because he knew he was right, and it only took 40 years of nightmare capitalism for everyone to start to realize it.

He tried to work within the existing two party duopoly to reform it, a similar strategy I tried until we were both done in by party machinations over what is best for the electorate.

He has done a lot for the country in getting ideas out there, and now it is time for the younger generation like myself to start fighting to make them a reality.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte

Billy Elliot - movie or musical

Les Miserables - musical

Rick Perlstein, Barbara Ehrenreich, Stephanie Kelton, Marshall Steinbaum, or Robert Reich's "Inequality for All"

Go Watch "The Peoples Convention" on YouTube from MPP.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Serve the People

Tell the Truth Even When it Isn't Pretty
Never Be Afraid to Lose For the Right Reasons
Never Stop Fighting
Tell lobbyists and oligarchs to kick rocks

Be of the working class and understand what the working class needs

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My wife can tell you, I'm a terrible liar and I have no poker face. My job will be to go to St. Paul and tell the straight story and take no guff. I want to be a warrior for the working class in southeastern Minnesota, not a servant to power or money. I want to fight, and never stop fighting, to make a better tomorrow for the folks I grew up around, who deserve something better.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

They need to serve the people, not tell the people what they are supposed to want, or like, or need. It is the job of an elected official to listen to their constituents and do what needs to be done to improve their lives, not to sit like a lord on a hill dictating what must be done and sniffing that the peasants just simply don't understand how it works.

If that isn't how politics works, then you need to fight to change the way it works because if it isn't serving the people, the people have every right to demand something better.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I don't want a fancy headstone, I don't want a monument, I don't want a statue. I just want people to say that Eric Leitzen fought to make things better for regular working people and did not care one bit for the crocodile tears of the oligarchy.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I could not have been more than five or six when my school was brought into the elementary school gym to sit on cold tiled floors and see a presentation about the Cold War. Though I have tried many times since to locate the song sung by that young lady on that day, I can only remember the simple line: "Mr. President, will there be no more trees?"

That is the past 40 years for the American working class: lurching from crisis to crisis, always coming out the worse for it as the oligarchy gets richer and richer, always haunted by that specter and wondering if tomorrow will be the day that there are no more trees. Ironically, the same chest-beating wrongheadedness that caused us to reject renewable energy in the 80s is now threatening to give my children a future where, indeed, there may be no more trees, and that's why we fight.

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

I washed dishes at the Canton Pub while I was still in high school. I had the job for two years and left soon after the original owners sold. They were a wonderful old couple, high school sweethearts from Lanesboro, and they were an example of our small towns that is quickly disappearing. The Canton Pub was, at one time, a destination for some of the best prime rib in southeastern Minnesota, and it was folks like Ray & Sandy that took the pride and did the work to make it happen in a small town.

Unfortunately, in the years since the turn of the Millennium we have seen far too much money go to the rich to further corner the market with cheap offerings, further squeezing out the Mom & Pop stores and cooperatives. This sort of capitalism leads only to a dead-end for everyone except the most disgustingly rich, and the main reason I am running is to fight against our American oligarchy before it is too late.

What is your favorite book? Why?

It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Doremus Jessup

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Working, struggling, striving, and trying harder than anything to do what was asked of me to succeed, only to have the rug pulled out from underneath like what happened to so many of us in 2007, 2008, 2016, and now in 2020. It has been a struggle for all of us for decades now: we work harder and harder for less and less and we're told that don't worry, the rich hears us and we matter, but that doesn't put food on the table or your kids through college. The struggle against an increasingly predatory and self-destructive form of capitalism has been the apex struggle of all American workers since about 1980, and I was only born in 1985, so it is not a struggle I claim myself alone. We are all struggling together, and it is only by working together that it will end.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

Theortetically, the senate is meant to be the more august body of debate and reasoning, where the upper tier of legislators solemnly reflect and ultimate enact policies that are the best for the voters.

Unfortunately, my district has seen the past ten years happen with the rich son of a rich man who, wouldn't you know, doesn't like to vote for more taxes on the rich or anything like giving working people guaranteed healthcare. The people are not being served by those they elect, and it's time we stop just playing gang warfare of red vs. blue like it's a sports game and start voting for a candidate who will make your life better, whether you agree with everything they do or not.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not at all. We have just as many first-timers in government as long-serving veterans who are beheld to special interests and deep-pocketed donors. It doesn't take a good amount of experience to be corrupt. Vote for policies, not for people or platitudes.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

We need to re-embrace the policies of Wendell Anderson and the original Farmer-Labor party to pull our working people out of the next Depression that looms on the horizon. If we don't take drastic steps to get the money back into the pockets of the working people, and to keep it there with strong unions, cooperatives, and ironclad wealth taxes to ensure this gross amount of corruption never again darkens our doorways, we will see unrest and rebellion that will make our current situation seem like a walk in the park.

We must fundamentally rethink the way we do our societies, our governments, our daily ways of life: we need to stop out racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and all other kinds of hate. We need to put in government representatives who will actually work to improve their voters lives instead of lining their pockets, or we shouldn't have a government at all. We need to break the backs of rich local families who hold our beloved small towns as personal fiefdoms where their word is law. In short, we need to work to bring up the people at the bottom and punish those at the top who have spent almost half a century now profiting from the hard work of others while actively destroying the social contract in return.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

Whatever relationship results in legislation that will help working people. If it is a chummy one that gets Main Streets humming again, so be it. If it is an adversarial one that raises wages for workers, that's fine. If it is on the brink of fsticuffs until we guarantee everyone has clean and dependable water as climate change brings more unpredictable weather, then that's just fine.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Let's face it: I'm a Democratic Socialist running with the Green Party. No one is going to want to be my friend. My goal is to holler and raise a ruckus until the folks in my district finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not there to be wined and dined and collect a check, I'm there to raise hell, and if the other legislators were smart they would hitch their wagon to my star and start delivering on promises for their voters and stay in office as long as they want. We are public servants and should serve the public, not grease palms in a cloakroom.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Independent, equal and without the slightest whiff of the two major parties. The people, time and time again, want things like guaranteed healthcare, legalized cannabis, and an end to the gross military overspending, but because the two major parties (and their donors) hold the reins of what actually gets done in the halls of power, we do not see the people being served, only the money. We need an incorruptible and non-partisan redistricting structure nationwide.

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

As someone who has worked in education for a decade, I would want to be involved in educational policy.

Tax policy, of course. We've got to Get Your Money Back, after all.

As a Green I would want to put down some bold environmental policy as well and get some more renewable energy into Bluff Country.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I would be the only Green in he senate so... I guess I would be the leader?

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

I love the old school Farmer-Labor type politicians like Floyd Olson, Eugene McCarthy, Paul Wellstone, and even Walter Mondale who took the principled stand of saying we had to tax the rich more and got a shellacking for it. I like to describe myself as a bit of Huey Long by the way of Bernie Sanders.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I have been in talks with a couple different groups regarding the future beyond 2020. You haven't heard the last of me.

Heck, someone on Twitter said I was going to be a future governor, and I'd sure love that opportunity to serve the people.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I spent three years as a city clerk & treasurer watching people bring in their penny jars to pay their water bills and pet licenses, while folks who sure weren't hurting refused to pay either. There just isn't enough help for working people while we keep giving sweetheart deals to the uber-rich. That needs to end before the pitchforks come out, or it is going to get really ugly. The folks I served in Hokah deserve more for what they are putting in, and the folks I butted heads with deserve to see that you can't keep twisting the system to your benefit without it snapping back in your face.

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

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Eric Leitzen campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B	Lost primary	$125	$125
2022	Minnesota State Senate District 26	Lost general	$651	$551
Grand total			$776	$676
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

External links

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Candidate

Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 1, 2020

[show]

Current members of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Lisa Demuth

Majority Leader:Harry Niska

Representatives

District 1A

John Burkel (R)

District 1B

Steve Gander (R)

District 2A

Bidal Duran (R)

District 2B

Matt Bliss (R)

District 3A

Roger Skraba (R)

District 3B

Natalie Zeleznikar (R)

District 4A

Heather Keeler (D)

District 4B

Jim Joy (R)

District 5A

Krista Knudsen (R)

District 5B

Mike Wiener (R)

District 6A

Ben Davis (R)

District 6B

Josh Heintzeman (R)

District 7A

Spencer Igo (R)

District 7B

Cal Warwas (R)

District 8A

Pete Johnson (D)

District 8B

Alicia Kozlowski (D)

District 9A

Jeff Backer (R)

District 9B

Tom Murphy (R)

District 10A

Ron Kresha (R)

District 10B

Isaac Schultz (R)

District 11A

Jeff Dotseth (R)

District 11B

Nathan Nelson (R)

District 12A

Paul Anderson (R)

District 12B

Mary Franson (R)

District 13A

Lisa Demuth (R)

District 13B

Tim O'Driscoll (R)

District 14A

Bernie Perryman (R)

District 14B

Dan Wolgamott (D)

District 15A

Chris Swedzinski (R)

District 15B

Paul Torkelson (R)

District 16A

Scott Van Binsbergen (R)

District 16B

Dave Baker (R)

District 17A

Dawn Gillman (R)

District 17B

Bobbie Harder (R)

District 18A

Erica Schwartz (R)

District 18B

Luke Frederick (D)

District 19A

Keith Allen (R)

District 19B

Tom Sexton (R)

District 20A

Pam Altendorf (R)

District 20B

Steven Jacob (R)

District 21A

Joe Schomacker (R)

District 21B

Marj Fogelman (R)

District 22A

Bjorn Olson (R)

District 22B

Terry Stier (R)

District 23A

Peggy Bennett (R)

District 23B

Patricia Mueller (R)

District 24A

Duane Quam (R)

District 24B

Tina Liebling (D)

District 25A

Kim Hicks (D)

District 25B

Andy Smith (D)

District 26A

Aaron Repinski (R)

District 26B

Greg Davids (R)

District 27A

Shane Mekeland (R)

District 27B

Bryan Lawrence (R)

District 28A

James Gordon (R)

District 28B

Max Rymer (R)

District 29A

Joe McDonald (R)

District 29B

Marion Rarick (R)

District 30A

Walter Hudson (R)

District 30B

Paul Novotny (R)

District 31A

Harry Niska (R)

District 31B

Peggy Scott (R)

District 32A

Nolan West (R)

District 32B

Matt Norris (D)

District 33A

Patti Anderson (R)

District 33B

Josiah Hill (D)

District 34A

Danny Nadeau (R)

District 34B

Xp Lee (D)

District 35A

Zack Stephenson (D)

District 35B

Kari Rehrauer (D)

District 36A

Elliott Engen (R)

District 36B

Brion Curran (D)

District 37A

Kristin Robbins (R)

District 37B

Kristin Bahner (D)

District 38A

Huldah Hiltsley (D)

District 38B

Samantha Vang (D)

District 39A

Erin Koegel (D)

District 39B

Sandra Feist (D)

District 40A

Kelly Moller (D)

District 40B

David Gottfried (D)

District 41A

Wayne Johnson (R)

District 41B

Tom Dippel (R)

District 42A

Ned Carroll (D)

District 42B

Ginny Klevorn (D)

District 43A

Cedrick Frazier (D)

District 43B

Mike Freiberg (D)

District 44A

Peter Fischer (D)

District 44B

Leon Lillie (D)

District 45A

Andrew Myers (R)

District 45B

Patty Acomb (D)

District 46A

Larry Kraft (D)

District 46B

Cheryl Youakim (D)

District 47A

Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (D)

District 47B

Ethan Cha (D)

District 48A

Jim Nash (R)

District 48B

Lucille Rehm (D)

District 49A

Alex Falconer (D)

District 49B

Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (D)

District 50A

Julie Greene (D)

District 50B

Steve Elkins (D)

District 51A

Michael Howard (D)

District 51B

Nathan Coulter (D)

District 52A

Liz Reyer (D)

District 52B

Bianca Virnig (D)

District 53A

Mary Clardy (D)

District 53B

Rick Hansen (D)

District 54A

Brad Tabke (D)

District 54B

Ben Bakeberg (R)

District 55A

Jessica Hanson (D)

District 55B

Kaela Berg (D)

District 56A

Robert Bierman (D)

District 56B

John Huot (D)

District 57A

Jon Koznick (R)

District 57B

Jeff Witte (R)

District 58A

Kristi Pursell (D)

District 58B

Drew Roach (R)

District 59A

Fue Lee (D)

District 59B

Esther Agbaje (D)

District 60A

Sydney Jordan (D)

District 60B

Mohamud Noor (D)

District 61A

Katie Jones (D)

District 61B

Jamie Long (D)

District 62A

Aisha Gomez (D)

District 62B

Anquam Mahamoud (D)

District 63A

Samantha Sencer-Mura (D)

District 63B

Emma Greenman (D)

District 64A

Kaohly Her (D)

District 64B

Dave Pinto (D)

District 65A

Samakab Hussein (D)

District 65B

Maria Isa Pérez-Vega (D)

District 66A

Leigh Finke (D)

District 66B

Athena Hollins (D)

District 67A

Liz Lee (D)

District 67B

Jay Xiong (D)

Republican Party (67)

Democratic Party (67)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 1, 2020

[1]

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Eric Leitzen

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 26

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election

Campaign finance

2020

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 28

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

2020

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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