Joel Novak (Minnesota)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Joel Novak

Republican Party

Education

Bachelor's

University of Minnesota, Morris

Law

Drake University Law School, 2001

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Personal

Birthplace

Alexandria, Minn.

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Joel Novak (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Minnesota's 7th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on August 11, 2020.

Novak completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Novak was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended the University of Minnesota, Morris; Campbell University; Fayetteville State; Fayetteville Tech; and Drake University. He also obtained a J.D. and LL.M. from the Drake University Law School and The Judge Advocate General's School.

Novak joined the U.S. Army in 1977.

Elections

2020

See also: Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Democratic primary)

Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Michelle Fischbach defeated incumbent Collin Peterson, Slater Johnson, and Rae Hart Anderson in the general election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Fischbach (R)	53.4	194,066
		Collin Peterson (D)	39.8	144,840
	Submit photo	Slater Johnson (Legal Marijuana Now Party)	4.9	17,710
	Submit photo	Rae Hart Anderson (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota)	1.8	6,499
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	362

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 363,477
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Incumbent Collin Peterson defeated Alycia Gruenhagen and Stephen Emery in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Collin Peterson	75.6	26,925
		Alycia Gruenhagen	16.7	5,956
		Stephen Emery	7.7	2,734

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,615 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Thaddeus Laugisch (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Michelle Fischbach defeated Dave Hughes, Noel Collis, William Louwagie, and Jayesun Sherman in the Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Fischbach	58.8	26,359
		Dave Hughes	22.2	9,948
	Submit photo	Noel Collis	15.1	6,747
	Submit photo	William Louwagie	2.2	989
		Jayesun Sherman	1.7	757

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,800 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joel Novak (R)

Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary election

Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Rae Hart Anderson defeated Kevin Shores in the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rae Hart Anderson	67.4	215
	Submit photo	Kevin Shores	32.6	104

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 319 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Slater Johnson advanced from the Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Slater Johnson	100.0	592

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 592 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joel Novak completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Novak'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.

Novak is a Drake University graduate with a BA (triple major in Political Science, Pre-Law, and Military Science), and a JD. He is also a Judge Advocate General's School graduate where he earned an LL.M., with a specialty in criminal law. He served for 30 years, 2 months, and 26 days in the U.S. Army. He served as a driver (15 mos), a mechanic (15 mos), and airborne infantryman (12 yrs), and a judge advocate (15 yrs). On the line he served in every position from rifleman to platoon sergeant (except ARM); as a judge advocate he served as the deputy staff judge advocate of FIRST U.S. ARMY, of 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, and 7th Infantry Division; as the Chief, International and Operational Law for Fort Carson and 7th Infantry Division (additional duty as a Military Magistrate); and the Chief, Criminal Law and Discipline, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (Light), and as Chief, Administrative and Civil Law, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division; Commissioner, U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals; Government Appellate Counsel; Trail Defense Counsel; Claims Judge Advocate; Trial Counsel; and Legal Assistance Counsel. Novak received teh following awards and decorations: Expert Infantry Badge; Basic Airborne Badge; Air Assault Badge; Meritorious Service Medal (3d Award); Army Commendation Medal (3d Award); Army Achievement Medal (2d Award); Good Conduct Medal (3d Award); National Defense Medal (2d Award); Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Medal; the Multinational Force & Observers' Medal; and the Army Service Award; a Combat patch (3d Armored Cavalry Regiment); National Guard Recruiter's Badge; Expert Badges in Rifle, Grenade; 45 Caliber Pistol; 9 MM Pistol, M-60 Machine Gun; LAW; and Dragon; Marksman Badge in Night Fire, and Automatic Rifle.

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?

• Liberty is a basic pillar of Americanism.
• Life is a gift from God, not any government. No government has the right to take that gift or delegate that right to someone else
• Every citizen has Equal rights, and Equal responsibilities. With Rights come Responsibilities; and with Responsibilities come Rights.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Liberty; 2. Life; 3. Equal Rights and Equal Responsibilities; 4. We are a Constitutional Republic; 5. Cutting Spending; 6. Reforming taxes even more; 7. Fixing the Farm Bill; and 8. Securing the border.

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

Ronald Reagan. He is the first and only President of my life that understood, totally believed in, and fought for the four pillars of Americanism: Liberty, Life, Equal rights and Equal responsibility; and our Constitutional Republic.

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

Honesty, Altruism, and an understand that you are there to serve your constituents, and the United States; not yourself or you party.

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

I have a firm understand of Natural Law; the U.S. Constitution; and Congressional authority and limitations. I also know that every action that does not have to be done immediately should be considered to determine how much it will impinge on the pillars of Americanism, and what the collateral consequences will be. Second, a dollar should not be thrown at a 50 cent problem,

What is your favorite book? Why?

Once an Eagle. It shows the human hurtles a true servant must overcome. These people (the human hurtles) exist every where in the Military as well as in civilian life. If you love your country,and love your fellow human beings, you must overcome these road blocks.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do. This experience gives candidates knowledge of problems and how to fix them. It is not necessary, but it creates a legislator ready to roll on day one.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The first thing we need to do is cut the congressional budget. Congress spends over half a billion dollars on itself every year. We need to start our cuts here. Second, our taxes are still unfair and the average person pays too much. We need to reform our tax code even more. Third, I am not against duties. We should put a 10% duty on everything that comes into the U.S., and if another country puts a higher duty on American products, we should match that duty. Forth, our Military needs to be completely rebuilt, and we need to stop the September spending frenzy. Fifth, our immigration system needs to be reformed, but first, we need to secure the border. Sixth, our Federal highways need to be completely reworked. Seventh, minor changes need to be made to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Eighth, title 32 needs to be reformed. Ninth, our U.S. farm policy needs to be completely redone with a view towards freeing farmers from Federal control. Tenth, our education system needs to be completely rebuilt, leaving most decision to the county level.

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

Agriculture, and Ways and Means.

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

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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Minnesota's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Amy Klobuchar (D)

Tina Smith (D)

Representatives

District 1

Brad Finstad (R)

District 2

Angie Craig (D)

District 3

Kelly Morrison (D)

District 4

Betty McCollum (D)

District 5

Ilhan Omar (D)

District 6

Tom Emmer (R)

District 7

Michelle Fischbach (R)

District 8

Pete Stauber (R)

Democratic Party (6)

Republican Party (4)