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Zack Stephenson is ambivalent about Lisa Demuth running for governor. On the one hand, Stephenson, who in September replaced the assassinated Melissa Hortman as DFL leader of the Minnesota House, said that House Speaker Demuth’s campaign will invariably affect negotiations in the split state House. Already, Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, who chairs the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, is running for governor. There is also talk of other House Republicans throwing their hat in the ring. “It’s pretty clear to me the gubernatorial elections are going to have a pretty significant impact” on House business, said Stephenson, who is from Coon Rapids. But “the flip side of that is that we have a good working relationship,” Stephenson said, noting that Demuth negotiated a budget with Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders that preserved “99.9%” of the DFL’s legislative achievements from the 2023 trifecta. Related: A House Evenly Divided: One-on-One with Speaker Lisa Demuth Demuth announced Sunday that she is running for governor, joining Robbins, Kendall Qualls, and Scott Jensen among declared Republican candidates for the 2026 election. Walz is the only declared DFL candidate. From Cold Spring, Demuth was first elected to the House in 2019. She became the leader of House Republicans in 2023, and emerged as speaker earlier this year as part of a power-sharing agreement. If Demuth wins, she would be the first person of color elected Minnesota governor. In an extended era of political polarization, Demuth said Monday that she is a “proven leader,” unafraid to work with DFLers. She is proud of her collaboration with the DFL Demuth’s run marks the first time in recent history that a state legislative leader has campaigned against a sitting governor, said Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College. But at a news conference Monday, Demuth indicated she would still collaborate with DFLers. Asked what her greatest achievement has been as House Republican leader, Demuth mentioned the powersharing agreement she reached with Hortman, and the pair negotiating in tandem to belatedly deliver a two-year state government budget. “We did that in a very respectful way, even though we didn’t agree eye to eye on everything,” Demuth said, repeating her refrain from the legislative session that she and Hortman were “team House.” Demuth mentioned that during those negotiations she was able to rein in spending (the notion that Walz is to blame for Minnesota’s expenditures being projected to exceed state revenue beginning in 2027 is an early theme in Demuth’s campaign). And she pushed back against a Walz proposal to cut off state funding for private schools. However, with the notable exception of restricting access to a subsidized state health care program to only the children of undocumented immigrants, Demuth did not extract major policy concessions from DFLers. Most of these budget negotiations took place behind closed doors between Walz, Hortman, Demuth, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, and, periodically, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks. In a statement Sunday, Robbins said Demuth “agreed to a backroom budget deal.” Asked about Robbins’ statement, Demuth took the opportunity to compliment Robbins, saying, “I’m proud of the work that she has done” on the Fraud Prevention committee, and “I look forward to doing work together throughout this next legislative session.” She wants to be seen as turning down the volume on political divisiveness Demuth’s nice words to her now political rival Robbins were in character. While Donald Trump’s ever quotable presidency is the face of today’s Republican Party, Demuth tries to present as a kinder, gentler candidate. Though in a video announcing her campaign, Demuth’s message seemed focused on attacking Walz for attacking Trump. “Tim Walz doesn’t just disagree with us,” Demuth said in the message. “He hates us. He’s more focused on attacking President Trump than fixing Minnesota.” Related: House Speaker Lisa Demuth seeks Trump’s endorsement in bid to unseat Gov. Tim Walz Asked what she meant by “he hates us,” Demuth referred to Walz’s “negative rhetoric” and said hatred is “very clearly what he thinks of Republicans and people that don’t agree with him.” Demuth said she would seek Trump’s endorsement in the governor’s race. She said the president “has definitely delivered on the promises that we have safer borders,” and because of that “our communities are safer.” The House Speaker would neither endorse nor reject Trump potentially sending the National Guard and other arms of the federal government into Minneapolis in order to apprehend suspected undocumented immigrants. “I have an election that is literally going to happen one year from today,” Demuth said. “We will look at that as we go.”
