Greetings everyone. Excited to share an uplifting new discussion with Jake Johnson, another of our intrepid candidates working to flip a red House district blue this November.
Simply, Jake is a very good candidate and we need to be working hard to help him win. Here is some of what we told us in the discussion:
I grew up in our district in the little town of Stewartville. I grew up in a working-class family — in this context, working-class means we were broke. My dad was a garbage collector, my mom was a meter reader at the gas company, and I have ten siblings. When you grow up in a family like that, you certainly appreciate and value hard work, but you also need a lot of local community supports. We were the family that needed support a school community and a church community who wrapped their arms around our family, next-door neighbors and extended family members who sent help when they could.
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What really drove me to do this — I've been a math teacher for 20 years at our local high school — was watching my congressman [Brad Finstad] so actively and hostilely go after SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs within our government that support working people all across southern Minnesota, that support many of the students I teach, and that would have supported me when I was growing up. And it just didn't feel like a good time to sit on the sidelines hoping somebody else might do something about it. So I jumped into this race to give the people of southern Minnesota a voice in Congress again instead of just a rubber stamp.
Here’s a map of MN-1. It is a Cook GOP +6 district, well within the range of what we are targeting this cycle:
More from our conversation:
For people who don't know southern Minnesota, the district I'm running in is very agriculturally rich. We're the ninth most agriculturally productive district in the country. We are the home of the Mayo Clinic, the world's best hospital according to many. The policies that have been enacted during this administration and this Congress, because of their abdication of responsibility, have really been harmful to the people of southern Minnesota. You mentioned the tariffs. You mentioned the Iran war — you know, driving around now, unleaded is at $4.50 a gallon and diesel at about $6.50. I'm talking to farmers in southern Minnesota, small businesses, and families who literally just cannot afford to live. And we've seen health care cuts which our congressman has championed.
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We have a congressman who's chosen his party, his president, and honestly his political donors over the people of southern Minnesota. He won't meet with us, won't talk to us, won't engage with us. He's made a calculated decision that he doesn't need us anymore. So it's up to us — it is incumbent on the people of southern Minnesota to say, actually, sir, you work for us, and we demand better.
You can support Jake today by making a contribution to our Winning the House - Third Wave Fund which is raising for nominees who’ve emerged after late primaries and need a bit more help. You can learn more about Jake by visiting his campaign website where you can also sign up to volunteer.
Here’s his first ad. It’s a great one!
Friends, enjoy getting to know this inspiring candidate and let’s do what we can to help bring another leader of good character and strong values to Washington next year. Share our conversation with others, consider supporting Jake who is fighting hard in MN-01, and keep working hard all. We have a country to save, and elections like this one to win, together! - Simon
Jake is a math teacher who knows when the bills aren’t adding up.
Jake grew up in Stewartville with ten siblings, as the son of a garbage man and a meter reader. Jake worked hard to make it into the middle class, supported along the way by his church community, public programs, and great teachers, which inspired him to become a teacher.
For the past 20 years, Jake has taught high school math in Rochester, helping students solve tough problems and discover what they’re capable of. He has also navigated complex budget debates as a Government Relations Coordinator, and has increased financial literacy among kids on the board of the Minnesota Jump$tart Coalition.
Jake and his wife Molly, who works as a paraprofessional, are now raising four boys in Southern Minnesota. They feel the rising cost of groceries, utilities, and healthcare just like so many other families, and Jake knows that it stands in the way of his kids and his students being able to achieve their full potential. That’s why Jake is running for Congress to make life more affordable, so that the next generation has the same shot at the American Dream that he did.
