This is a moment of opportunity – and a moment to win.
People are paying attention again. They’re stepping forward. They’re rejecting fear, division, and politics that don’t reflect who we are.
Across Minnesota—and here in District 29—there is real opportunity. Not just to compete. To win—and to deliver on what Democrats stand for.
I believe in Democratic values. But belief doesn’t win elections.
If we are serious about delivering those values, we have to be serious about winning.
And we are not going to win this district by repeating campaigns that have already failed.
District 29 is drifting toward a hardline political movement that seeks to bring a narrow religious worldview into public policy.
The Republican incumbent has leaned into that movement—using rhetoric about “taking Minnesota back” and advancing a vision of government that imposes a narrow worldview and leaves out much of this community.
That’s not who we are as a state.
And if it goes unchallenged, it becomes normalized.
I’ve lived in Rockford for 19 years. It’s where I came to rebuild my life after my divorce, and it’s the community my wife Greta and I have chosen to call home.
Like a lot of Minnesotans, I’ve been deeply affected by what our state has gone through over the past year. I grew up in South Minneapolis, and these events didn’t feel distant to me—they felt close.
I remember standing at one of the memorials and feeling something that I think a lot of people have felt: we just can’t stand by and watch this happen.
That’s when it became clear to me—I’m not helpless. I can step forward.
Having been involved with the DFL—not just as a campaign worker, but now as a candidate—I understand why we are losing. And I’m personally invested in fixing it.
A lot of very good people have worked hard on these campaigns, and I respect that.
But effort isn’t the problem—strategy is. And until we are willing to change the strategy, the result will not change.
We need to be honest about where we are.
For over 30 years, the DFL has not won this district.
Just a few months ago, we lost this Senate race decisively—and the result wasn’t close. We got clobbered.
And instead of changing course, we are preparing to run the same kind of campaign again—same assumptions, same messaging, same result.
That’s not a strategy. That’s a pattern.
If repeating the same campaign was going to work, it would have worked already.
We can talk about Democratic values all day long—but if we don’t connect those values to a campaign that can actually win here, nothing will change.
We can say we’re listening—but if we’re not persuading the voters we need to win, we’re not solving the problem.
And we can keep doing what feels comfortable—but comfortable hasn’t won this district in over 30 years.
As DFLers, we have too often spoken to ourselves, instead of to the voters we need to win. I am running a campaign designed to persuade.
We have treated this district as unwinnable.
I am running because it is winnable—and I am building a campaign to prove it.
We have confused effort with effectiveness. I am focused on results.
You will hear people say District 29 is unwinnable.
That’s not analysis. That’s an excuse.
What’s unwinnable is a campaign that refuses to adapt.
My family comes from Norway, and we have a saying:
There is no such thing as bad weather—only bad clothes.
In politics, it’s the same—we haven’t adapted.
I’ve met people across this district who are working hard, raising families, and trying to do the right thing—and they deserve a government that works just as hard for them. We need:
This can be summed up in three words:
Responsive Accountable Government
Winning here means better schools, more stable property taxes, and a government that actually reflects this community.
I will oppose efforts to turn public policy into an extension of any one ideology—religious or political.
And I will work to ensure Minnesota remains a place where government reflects the whole community—not just one viewpoint.
That includes ensuring local law enforcement is focused on public safety first—not diverted into federal priorities that don’t reflect this community.
This campaign is not about factions.
It’s about whether we are serious about winning—or whether we are comfortable losing the same way, over and over again.
Because right now, we are on track to repeat a result we already know.
We can do better than that.
District 29 is not out of reach. But it will not be won by accident—and it will not be won by habit.
It will be won by a campaign that is built to win.
If you believe this district deserves a real contest—and a real chance to win—I ask for your support.
Thank you.
Vote Dan Fiskum for State Senate in District 29
August 11 and November 3