ELECTION 2026
Republican candidates eye endorsement for shot at fill Dahms’ seat
The group of candidates looking to fill what will soon be the vacant Senate District 15 seat were in the spotlight at the Wabasso Community Center on Monday evening.
The spot opened after Sen. Gary Dahms announced in January that he won’t seek reelection. Seeking the Republican endorsement — and who faced literally 20 questions Monday — are small bank loan officer and licensed auctioneer Braxton Seifert, Redwood County farmer Tiffany Lesmeister-Knott and Brian Mock, who owns a landscaping business in Lynd.
Who will run this year for the Republican Party will be determined at the endorsing election in Belview on Saturday.
Questions of the candidates ranged from budget balancing and their priorities if elected, to the gun issue and abortion, and gender and sexual orientation issues. Listed in this story are some of the questions and the candidates’ responses:
Minnesota recently had a large budget surplus, but also increased spending. How would you balance future state budgets?
Seifert: “In Minnesota, we’ve had a huge fraud problem — you can cut fraud in three ways: getting rid of it, preventing it and my favorite option, not having it to begin with.
If we look at programs and cut them to begin with, that’s an easy way to balance the budget. We also need to be looking at the welfare system in Minnesota. We need waiting periods for our welfare system.”
Lesmeister-Knott: “Not only did the Democrats waste and abuse, but they blew through that surplus that we had, plus added 40% to the government. Just in this Paid Family Leave — what we were told in the townships — they needed $40 million to start it. They needed hundreds and hundreds of employees to start that program. We need to cut government and get it out of our lives.”
Mock: “Waste, fraud, abuse — we’ve got to balance the budget, we hear it all the time. It’s never happened, and here we are again saying the same damn thing. How do you do it? You actually start cutting things. And you start firing people. Up in St. Paul, there’s whole bunch of people who work in the government that need to go away.”
What are your priorities for taxes or tax relief?
Lesmeister-Knott: “First priority is to cut them. We’re all paying way more taxes than we need to. We need to conform to the federal ones on taxes on overtime and the taxes on tips.”
Mock: “I want (taxes) as low as humanly possible — I want the very basic things covered: bridges, roadways, schools, essential services. All the other crap, we’re done with it; that’s why I’m sitting here. You go in, Day 1, and you put forward a bill that declares every single bill that was passed under an omnibus bill is unconstitutional and should be repealed.”
Seifert: “Ending the tax on social security, ending the tax on tips, ending the tax on overtime. We need to lower the fees that we’re paying into the state as well. Our fees for license tabs after five years is $3,000 more than our neighbors in South Dakota.”
Minnesota schools face teacher shortages and declining test scores in some areas — what specific steps would you take at the state level to improve K-12 education?
Mock: “The schools are a mess. Minnesota spends $14,000 per student, that’s a lot of money. What the problem is, is the teachers’ union is what really is driving the Democrats and Walz. We need to get the DEI out of there, we need to get the transgender crap out of there and get back to basic education that we know. I am a proponent of vouchers … I want transparency in schools.”
Seifert: “Good teachers lead to good students, which leads to better test scores. We need to let the teachers start deciding what needs to be taught instead of Woke mandates that are pushed down from St. Paul that are indoctrinating our kids.”
Lesmeister-Knott: “Students are falling behind in the basics — math, reading, history. The Woke and the DEI needs to get out of the education system. The unfunded mandates that St. Paul has passed on to our schools last session — they’re going to have to pass those costs on to somebody — it’s going to be the property tax owners. That needs to change.”
Recently, a bill was advanced which would ban semi-auto, military assault weapons and highcapacity magazines … what limitations, if any, should the government place on the types of weapons citizens should possess and should there be additional registration requirements for such weapons.
Seifert: “In Minnesota, we have dozens and dozens more shootings and issues with people compared to our neighbors in South Dakota — it’s a cultural issue, and it’s a mental health issue; we need to solve those two problems. The issue is not guns. I will support Second Amendment rights, and I will support helping people’s mental health.
Lesmeister-Knott: “We have a Constitutional right that will not be infringed on. The Democrats will not take my gas stove, they certainly will not take my guns. I think we have enough registration. We don’t have a gun problem, we have a people problem. I believe we need to protect our personal rights and our property. We need to look at tougher sentences for criminals and getting more help for the mentally ill.”
Mock: “It’s simple — we shall not be infringed, end of story.”
Share your position on abortion, gender expression and sexual orientation as it affects our communities.
Lesmeister-Knott: “We need to get back to valuing life. The Democrats do not value life anymore. We need to defund abortion centers. I believe a boy is a boy, and a girl is a girl — let’s get back to reality. We need to teach our kids reality.”
Mock: “We need to stop the public funding for abortions — it’s ridiculous. Sexual orientation and gender expression … here’s the thing: I don’t give a damn, and none of you give a damn; you don’t care about their sexual orientation. Conservatives don’t sit around thinking about it. Liberals do, and whack-job liberals do. We have a problem when (Democrats) start cramming these things down our throats.”
Seifert: “I’m the only candidate that has a detailed plan on every issue, except pro-life, because if you’re pro-life, you don’t answer questions — you know what it means to be pro-life. Those other issues, those should not be taught in our schools, or by people that are going to try to persuade or indoctrinate our kids. Decisions should be made solely by the parent without the government’s intervention.”
• Minnesota House of Representatives candidates in District 15B, Geri Theis and Tammy Houle, were also in attendance Monday and both got three minutes to introduce themselves and give their platforms before the senate forum began.
House is from Redwood Falls, and Theis is a native of Belview. They are running for the seat currently held by Republican Paul Torkelson of Hanska.
