John Howe (Minnesota)

John Howe

Republican Party

Prior offices

Minnesota State Senate District 28

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

St. Cloud State University

Personal

Profession

Store Owner, Sears

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

John Howe (Republican Party) was a member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 28.

Howe (Republican Party) ran for election for Minnesota Secretary of State. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Howe was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 2nd Congressional District of Minnesota. Howe was defeated by Jason Lewis in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.

Howe was a Republican candidate for Minnesota Secretary of State in the 2014 elections.

Howe is a former Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 28 from 2011 to 2013. John was elected Mayor of Red Wing, Minnesota in 2008.

Biography

Howe earned his Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from St. Cloud State University. Howe has also owned a Sears store and worked as a corrections officer.

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Howe served on these committees:

• Energy, Utilities, Technology, and Communications
• Jobs and Economic Growth
• Taxes
• Transportation, Vice Chair

Elections

2018

See also: Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Minnesota Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Simon defeated John Howe and William Denney in the general election for Minnesota Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Simon (D)	52.3	1,328,502
		John Howe (R)	43.6	1,109,093
		William Denney (Independence Party)	4.1	103,610
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,317

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,542,522 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Steve Simon advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota Secretary of State.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. John Howe advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota Secretary of State.

2016

See also: Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Republican incumbent John Kline, who began serving in Congress in 2002, chose not to run for re-election in 2016, leaving the seat open. Jason Lewis (R) defeated Angie Craig (D) and Paula Overby (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Craig faced no primary opponent, while Lewis defeated Matthew Erickson, John Howe, and Darlene Miller in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.

U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jason Lewis	47%	173,970
	Democratic	Angie Craig	45.2%	167,315
	Independent	Paula Overby	7.8%	28,869
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	360
Total Votes				370,514
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State

U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jason Lewis	48.9%	11,641
Darlene Miller	30.7%	7,305
John Howe	13.6%	3,244
Matthew Erickson	6.8%	1,612
Total Votes		23,802
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State

2014

See also: Minnesota secretary of state election, 2014

Howe ran for election to the office of Minnesota Secretary of State. Howe sought the Republican nomination in the primary. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

2012

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012

Howe ran in District 21 in 2012 after redistricting. He was unopposed in the August 14 Republican primary and was defeated by Matt Schmit (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Minnesota State Senate, District 21, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Matt Schmit	52.5%	21,937
	Republican	John Howe Incumbent	47.5%	19,846
Total Votes				41,783

2010

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2010

Howe had no opponent in the primary. John Howe defeated Joe Fricke (DFL) in the general election.

Minnesota State Senate, District 28 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
John Howe (R)		16706	54.99%
Joe Fricke (DFL)		13649	44.93%
Write-In		26	0.09%

Campaign themes

2016

The following issues were listed on Howe's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“	National Debt: I believe it is a uniquely important issue because it has an effect on everything in our nation. I am passionate about addressing the debt and it’s increasingly destructive influence on our future. It is imperative that we reduce spending and stimulate the economy if we are serious about addressing the elephant in the room. National Security: We have significant threats to our country: Cyber, nuclear, bio, EMP and terrorism. We cannot wait for a terrorist act to strike US Bank Stadium or MOA – we must be pro-active to prevent something like this from ever happening. We also must make our borders secure and carefully scrutinize all those who want to enter the USA. Federalism: I believe we need to return power to the states. The Federal Agencies are too plentiful and too powerful. The Obama Administration has set a new high-water mark for federal control with measures like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The federal government is exercising newly expanded power in matters involving labor, global warming, education, energy, welfare, the environment, healthcare and more. We need to reverse course, honor the 10th Amendment and return power to the people. Economy and Business: The ACA (Obamacare) needs to be dramatically reformed or repealed. Health care costs are completely out of control and increasingly unsustainable. We must allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. Competition is good for consumers because it drives innovation and lowers costs...Federal tax, trade, regulatory and environmental policies are strangling our economy...We need to shift course on Federal policies immediately. Culture: Our societal connections and networks are deteriorating. We have too much division in our country. We are pitted against one another based on race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. This needs to stop – we are in this together and we will sink or swim together. The principles of Life, Liberty, Property and Pursuit of Happiness are equal opportunity employers.	”
—John Howe's campaign website, http://www.howeforcongress.com/issues/

2012

Howe's website highlighted the following campaign themes during his 2012 run:

Reducing Government's Footprint

• Excerpt: "No matter what the issue, the principle of Reducing Government's Footprint guides John in his decision making. He understands that every government rule and regulation takes away a little bit of our personal freedom and liberty, and he studies every issue with that in mind. "

Taxes and Spending

• Excerpt: "A member of the Senate Taxes committee, John understands that the problem with Minnesota's taxes is not that they are too low."

Jobs and the Economy

• Excerpt: "As a small business owner and entrepreneur, John understands that economic growth and good private sector jobs are created when the private sector is allowed to flourish."

Education

• Excerpt: "As a graduate of public schools and St. Cloud State University, John recognizes the importance of public education. He also understands that taxpayers are asking for more accountability and better outcomes from the education system."

Transportation

• Excerpt: "Shortly after his election, John was made vice chair of the Senate Transportation committee, and immediately began partnering with MN/DOT to work on important safety issues in his district."

Campaign finance summary

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Scorecards

Taxpayers League of Minnesota

The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a Minnesota-based taxpayer advocacy organization, releases a legislative scorecard for the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Senate once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on tax issues and “their efforts to balance the state budget without a tax increase.” The organization also compiles a legislator’s individual "Lifetime Score."

2012

Howe received a score of 57 percent in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 22nd out of all 67 Minnesota State Senate members.

2011

Howe received a score of 77 percent in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 29th out of all 67 Minnesota State Senate members.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Howe and his spouse Lisa have three children.

See also

• Secretary of State of Minnesota
• Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2018

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Minnesota Secretary of State
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• House website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2010

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Steve Murphy (DFL)	Minnesota State Senate District 28 2011–2013	Succeeded by Jeremy Miller (R)

[show]

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)