Minnesota House of Representatives District 44B candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Minnesota, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 44B who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 44B

Incumbent Leon Lillie defeated William Johnston and TJ Hawthorne in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 44B on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Leon Lillie (D)	56.6	9,197
	Submit photo	William Johnston (R)	38.5	6,260
		TJ Hawthorne (L)	4.8	785
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	8

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,250
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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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.

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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?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Getting to the core of our problems, government education. School choice is the first step to true free market education.

Cutting red tape laid down by the state. Small businesses are important to keep an economy going after the federal government put us in this position by printing fiat money.

Defend the Guard. STOP sending Minnesota Guard troops to fight overseas and keep them home to defend OUR HOME.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Market regulations. When special interest lobbyists convince a legislator to create a law/regulation that ONLY corners that market for themselves and takes any opportunity for competition out.

Cannabis/Hemp is one example of market regulations, turned into law, that inhibited innovation in a market that has been wasted for years. A lot of these regulations also apply in our medical industry. Doctors that want to help patients but may disagree with a central authority, are stifled and discredited. Then, the treatments are not produced because of actual misinformation.

I truly believe when people are incentivized to do good, they will do good...and vise versa.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

My father has always been the person I've looked up to most. He has always been an honest man, even when it wasn't convenient. I like to follow his example of honesty being the BEST policy. Being honest and telling the truth about any situation or problem will result in the most efficient way to solve said problem.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Cooperation and Coercion by Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Honesty is the BEST policy.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

I guess that depends on what you consider 'historical'. I remember seeing Halley's Comet when I was six years old. Then, I remember the Berlin Wall being torn down when I was nine. Of course, between both those events, the Twins won their first World Series and my dad said I was "Watching history" then so...

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Started as a dishwasher and ended doing everything other than managing employees at Jethro's (Now Quinny's) in Mahtomedi. I was hired the summer before freshman year and finally quit five years later.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

The executive and legislative branches of government are meant to be separated. An ideal relationship would be that one would make sure the other does not take the power vested in them too far. If the legislature and governor agreed on everything, things could move too fast in one direction.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

I believe the federal government has put our nation in a situation that our dollar is going to be worth less and less every day. I think the greatest challenge we will face in the next two years is going to be inflation of the US dollar. The best way to fight this invisible tax is to allow Minnesotans to create, build and run businesses how they believe they should. By cutting the arbitrary rules and regulations for licensing & zoning alone, will open up the opportunities for more free market solutions.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

No. When someone begins to understand the ways to manipulate the system, they will take advantage. We need term limits for every single legislator.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Sure. No one wants to go to work with other people they don't like.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

I think there can easily be an algorithm written to fairly draw the lines, according to population and city/county lines. This way, the gerrymandering by the governor doesn't take place.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

No.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Not Minnesotan but Ron Paul is the only politician that I have seen that stayed aligned with his principles, always.

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

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Yes.

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?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Yes. My next door neighbor's brother is spending 14 years in federal prison and was never caught in possession of the drugs he is serving time for. He was charged with 'conspiracy'.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Oversee? Yes. Grant? NEVER!

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

TJ Hawthorne (L)

Of course, compromise is necessary to come to an agreement between two individuals, or parties, that do not agree on how to accomplish a task. I do, however, believe there are some things that require standing on principles and not compromising on those principles.

See also

More about these elections:

• Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022

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