Kobey Layne
Kobey Layne (Democratic Party) is running for election for Governor of Minnesota. Layne declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 11, 2026.
Layne completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kobey Layne graduated from Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School. Layne earned a bachelor's degree from Hamline University in 2020 and a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2022. Layne's career experience includes working in retail.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Governor of Minnesota
Brad Kohler (Independent) and Mike Newcome (Independent) are running in the general election for Governor of Minnesota on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Brad Kohler (Independent)  | |
 | Mike Newcome (Independent) | |
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| = 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
Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota
Rick DeVoe (D), Amy Klobuchar (D), Kobey Layne (D), and Christopher Seymore (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 11, 2026.
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| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Tim Walz (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Peggy Bennett | |
 | Lisa Demuth | |
 | Thomas Evenstad | |
 | Patrick Knight | |
 | John Krhin | |
 | Mike Lindell | |
 | Phillip Parrish | |
 | Kendall Qualls | |
 | Kristin Robbins | |
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| = 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
- Scott Jensen (R)
- Jeff Johnson (R)
- Chris Madel (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kobey Layne completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Layne's responses.
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In college, I served as a resident assistant, helping students navigate personal and interpersonal conflict along with navigating the higher education system (many of them first generation students).
In the summer before my senior year of college, I participated in the Public Policy and International Affairs - Junior Summer Institute. This 7-week program prepared me to pursue further education in the realm of public policy and public affairs. I also served on the Hamline Midway Coalition board of directors, an organization that gathers community voices to inform the city of St. Paul’s policies.
I attended the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and graduated with a Master of Public Policy degree in 2022.
My first job post-graduation, was with Minnesota State Senator Jim Abeler serving as his Committee Legislative Assistant on the Human Services Reform Committee. I left the Republican Party in 2022 after realizing the party’s values do not truly align with my own. After being laid off from the Minnesota Senate after the 2022 election, I found a job in retail to pay my bills.
As a trans woman, one of my latest vocations is creating and organizing community in the Twin Cities trans community.- Minnesota needs to uncouple itself from the American Oligarchs. The vision for Minnesota is one that recognizes that we need a transition away from corporations towards worker cooperatives and local small businesses. For too long have we had a “build and they shall come” infrastructure that caters to corporations as if turning the economic dials to the right corporate franchise tax rate, the right income tax rate, and right property tax rates will entice corporations to build in our state. It is a slap in the face to our hard working communities that want to start businesses that operate from a place of dignity for workers. Our communities have the knowledge and skills to build successful businesses - what they lack is access to capital.
- Healthcare is a right and it’s time to recognize that as a state. In the face of the One Big Beautiful Bill budget cuts and Medicaid payments being withheld, it is time for Minnesota to ensure everyone across this state receives healthcare.
- We must address housing affordability. We do this in the short term by passing legislation that caps rent increases to 3% with exceptions for organizations that provide affordable housing. We also need to invest in building more multi-family and transitional housing; however, investing in housing means nothing if we don’t limit the amount of housing organizations can buy, especially private equity firms.
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
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 6, 2026
