Julie Blaha
2019 - Present
2027
6
Julie Blaha (Democratic Party) is the Minnesota State Auditor. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Blaha (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for Minnesota State Auditor. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Blaha grew up in Nowthen, Minnesota. She graduated from St. Cloud State University with a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a master’s degree in education in 2007 from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Blaha's professional experience includes teaching 6th and 7th grade math for the Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District #11 from 1999-2016. Blaha also served as the secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO and as a member of the Governor’s School Finance Task Force. Blaha's volunteer affiliations have included the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, the Minnesota chapter of the National Organization for Women, and the Minnesota Safe Schools Technical Advisory Committee.[1][2]
Political career
Minnesota State Auditor (2019-Present)
Blaha has served as Auditor of State of Minnesota from 2019 until the present.
Elections
2022
See also: Minnesota Auditor election, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota State Auditor
Incumbent Julie Blaha defeated Ryan Wilson, Tim Davis, and Will Finn in the general election for Minnesota State Auditor on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Julie Blaha (D) | 47.5 | 1,168,185 |
 | Ryan Wilson (R)  | 47.1 | 1,159,750 | |
| Tim Davis (Legal Marijuana Now Party) | 3.6 | 87,386 | ||
| Will Finn (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota) | 1.8 | 44,270 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,341 | ||
| Total votes: 2,460,932 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Julie Blaha advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Ryan Wilson advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary election
The Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary election was canceled. Will Finn advanced from the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election
The Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election was canceled. Tim Davis advanced from the Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
2018
- See also: Minnesota Auditor election, 2018
General election
General election for Minnesota State Auditor
Julie Blaha defeated Pam Myhra, Michael Ford, and Chris Dock in the general election for Minnesota State Auditor on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Julie Blaha (D) | 49.4 | 1,250,524 |
 | Pam Myhra (R) | 43.2 | 1,095,310 | |
| Michael Ford (Legal Marijuana Now Party) | 5.3 | 133,913 | ||
 | Chris Dock (L) | 2.1 | 53,068 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1,125 | ||
| Total votes: 2,533,940 (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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Julie Blaha advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Pam Myhra advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Auditor.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Julie Blaha did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Blaha provided the following description of her political philosophy to Ballotpedia:
| “ | Great things happen close to home. The Minnesota Auditor can support that work by providing accountability for local government spending, educating local leaders and residents about the effects of their decisions, and representing Minnesotans where local decisions are made.[3][4] | ” |
| —Julie Blaha, 2018 | ||
She added:
| “ | Minnesota is known for clean, effective local government. I will protect and grow that proud reputation.[3][4] | ” |
| —Julie Blaha, 2018 | ||
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Issues
ESG
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
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| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. |
Blaha took stances in support of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), an approach to investing and corporate decision-making.
State financial officers, including treasurers, auditors, and controllers, are responsible for auditing other government offices, managing payroll, and overseeing pensions. In some states, these financial officers are also responsible for investing state retirement and trust funds.
As the state auditor, Blaha served as one of four members on the Minnesota State Board of Investment (MSBI). In an August 2022 speech before the board, Blaha said: “Minnesotans know that climate change is real and want to see action. Whether your focus is on protecting the planet or protecting the bottom line, it’s time to increase climate change considerations in Minnesota’s investment strategies.”[5]
Defending ESG during campaign debate (September 2022)
Blaha and Ryan Wilson, the 2022 Republican nominee for state auditor, argued over ESG policy in a September 2022 election debate.[6]
Wilson, referencing Blaha’s support for using ESG factors in the MSBI's investment decisions, said, "I will not play politics with our pensions."[6]
Blaha said: “Even if you don’t care about the environment at all, you need to think about climate change in investments. There are significant risks and there are significant opportunities in how climate is changing and how we’re transitioning energy.”[6]
Support for SEC proposal to mandate ESG reporting (June 2022)
In June 2022 Blaha and the other three members of the MSBI sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to support an SEC rule proposal titled the “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” In December 2022, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported that the SEC rule “would become some of the first mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements for U.S. companies, requiring the disclosure of climate-related risk information in registration statements and periodic reports.”[7][8][9]
Blaha and the MSBI directors in the letter said: “The MSBI commends the SEC’s attention to and consideration of the challenges that investors face with respect to measuring climate-related risk. We believe uniform disclosure rules provide a consistent framework through which investors may manage risk. To date, all MSBI efforts to measure and engage on climate-related risk have been constrained due to lack of consistent, reliable and comparable information. The MSBI broadly supports the disclosures proposed and believes that fundamentally there is value tied to this information for investors.”[9]
Support for disinvestment from coal production (May 2020)
Blaha voted for a May 2022 resolution directing the MSBI executive director to remove coal production firms from the MSBI investment portfolio.[10]
The resolution directed the executive director to remove all “publicly traded companies which derive 25 percent or more of their revenue from the extraction and/or production of thermal coal” from the MSBI’s investment portfolio no later than December 31, 2020.[11]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Minnesota State Auditor |
Officeholder Minnesota State Auditor |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Chalkboard Champions, “Middle school teacher Julie Blaha elected Minnesota State Auditor,” March 8, 2019
- ↑ Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, “State Auditor Julie Blaha Bio,” accessed February 11, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, “Auditor Blaha Applauds Report on Impact of Climate Change on State Investments - August 24, 2022,” August 24, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 MinnPost, “Wait? There’s a ‘real issue’ in the state auditor’s race?” September 15, 2022
- ↑ Pittsburgh Business Times, “SEC’s proposed ESG rule: Key takeaways for public and private companies,” December 1, 2022
- ↑ US Securities and Exchange Commission, “SEC Proposes Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” March 21, 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Minnesota State Board of Investment, “Letter to Secretary of Securities and Exchange Commission RE: Proposed Rules for The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors, File No. S7-10-22,” June 15, 2022
- ↑ Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, “Press Release: State Investments Are Key to Main Street’s Recovery,” May 29, 2020
- ↑ Minnesota State Board of Investment, “Resolution of the Minnesota State Board of Investment Concerning Reduction of Investments Associated with Thermal Coal Production,” May 29, 2020
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Minnesota State Auditor 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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