2022 Minnesota State Auditor election explained

Election Name:2022 Minnesota State Auditor election
Type:presidential
Previous Election:2018 Minnesota State Auditor election
Previous Year:2018
Next Election:2026 Minnesota State Auditor election
Next Year:2026
Country:Minnesota
Flag Year:1983
Party1:Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Image1:Julie Blaha.jpg
Image1 Size:x150px
Nominee1:Julie Blaha
Image2 Size:x150px
Nominee2:Ryan Wilson
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
State Auditor
Before Election:Julie Blaha
Before Party:Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
After Election:Julie Blaha
After Party:Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Popular Vote1:1,168,185
Percentage1:47.47%
Popular Vote2:1,159,750
Percentage2:47.13%

The 2022 Minnesota State Auditor election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the state auditor of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Incumbent DFLer Julie Blaha narrowly won re-election to a second term.

Blaha was challenged by Republican candidate Ryan Wilson, Grassroot-Legalize Cannabis Party candidate Will Finn, and Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Tim Davis.[1]

This election was the second-closest for Minnesota State Auditor ever, after 1934.[2]

Background

In Minnesota, the state auditor is charged with supervising and auditing the finances of the state's approximately 4,800 local governments, which altogether tax and spend over $40 billion annually.[3] Likewise, the state auditor performs under contract the annual single audit of nearly $26 billion in federal funds spent by state agencies and their subrecipients.[4] The state auditor's authority transcends jurisdictions and applies to all local governments, be they counties, cities, towns, school districts, local pension funds, metropolitan and regional agencies, or myriad special purpose districts, and to every state agency that receives federal financial assistance.[5]

Nature of the office

Since the elected constitutional office of state treasurer was eliminated in 2003, and despite the office's importance, the election for state auditor has been considered Minnesota's most "low-key" statewide race.[6] Auditor races are obscure enough to earn headlines when a "real issue" emerges.[7] Other analyses suggest that the auditor's office, which has lost half its staff since the 1990s, is Minnesota's "most overlooked and underfunded statewide office."[8]

Synopsis of incumbent's tenure

In 2018, Julie Blaha, then secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL–CIO, was elected to replace retiring fellow DFLer Rebecca Otto who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination for governor. As state auditor, Blaha was involved in uncovering and investigating a handful of public finance scandals, including an embezzlement scandal in Canton and Whalan and a conflict-of-interest case concerning the mayor of Two Harbors.[9] [10] Auditor Blaha was also publicly critical of Minnesota's civil asset forfeiture laws, arguing they were needlessly punitive for low-income suspects. She led a push to reform the laws which was ultimately successful in 2021.[11]

Candidates

The primary for State Auditor was uncontested.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Julie Blaha, incumbent State Auditor and former secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL–CIO, announced her intention to run for election in November 2021. She won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement unanimously at the party convention in May 2022.[12]

Nominee

Republican Party

Ryan Wilson, an attorney and former founder and CEO of a Minnesota-based clinical trial auditing firm, announced his candidacy in February 2022.[14] Wilson, of Maple Grove, sought and received the endorsement of the Republican Party of Minnesota in May at the party's state convention.[15]

Nominee

Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party

Kevin Finander, who appeared on ballots under the name Will Finn, was the nominee for the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party. A self-described Libertarian, Finander was the chair of the Minnesota Taxation is Theft political action committee and a member of the South St. Paul library board.[16]

Nominee

Legal Marijuana Now Party

Longtime activist and Legal Marijuana Now Party chairman Tim Davis was his party's nominee in 2022. In an interview, Davis acknowledged that Auditor Blaha supported legalizing marijuana, but was committed to running nonetheless, arguing "[DFLers] haven’t gotten anything done. We will be running. If we can get candidates, we will run.”[17]

Nominee

General election

Campaign issues

Feeding Our Future

Feeding Our Future, a now-dissolved Minnesota nonprofit, defrauded the state's USDA-funded school nutrition programs of at least $250 million over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] [20] On September 20, 2022, the U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced federal charges against 47 former Feeding Our Future employees for their involvement in the nation's largest pandemic-related fraud scheme.[21] Republican nominee Ryan Wilson argued that DFL incumbent Auditor Julie Blaha could have minimized the fraud scheme's damage if her office had notified the federal authorities sooner of Feeding Our Future's internal control discrepancies.[22] Auditor Blaha contended that her office is primarily designed for auditing local governments in Minnesota and that her office had submitted a report to the Minnesota Department of Education which noted that Feeding Our Future had not complied with standard auditing practice.[23]

ESG investing

The Minnesota State Auditor is a member of the State Board of Investment (SBI), which oversees the state's $130 billion investment portfolio. As auditor, Julie Blaha had argued that the state should shift its investing strategies to meet so-called environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) guidelines. Blaha had argued that the state is a "long-term investor" that must focus on the potential long-term impacts of climate change and social inequities to maintain a stable investment portfolio.[24] Wilson had argued that ESG investment is inherently political and that SBI should prioritize return on investment as a fiduciary over other public policy considerations, arguing Blaha was looking to "play politics" with state pensions.[25]

Polling

Graphical summary
Poll sourceDate(s)administeredSamplesizeMarginof errorJulie
Blaha (DFL)
Ryan
Wilson (R)
OthersUndecided
SurveyUSAOct. 26 – 30, 2022836 (LV)± 3.9%39%44%3%14%
Trafalgar Group (R)Oct. 17 – 19, 20221,091 (LV)± 2.9%40.4%44.1%6.0%9.5%
Embold ResearchOct. 10 – 14, 20221,585 (LV)± 2.6%40.4%39.8%6.1%13.7%
SurveyUSASep. 30 – Oct. 3, 2022604 (LV)± 4.4%41%38%3%18%
Trafalgar Group (R)Sep. 14, 20221,079 (LV)± 2.9%41.2%42.3%5.7%10.8%
SurveyUSAAug. 30 – Sep. 4, 2022562 (LV)± 4.9%38%37%3%23%

Results

By county

CountyJulie Blaha
DFL
Ryan Wilson
GOP
Tim Davis
LMN
Will Finn
GLC
Write-inMarginTotal votes
data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number"
Aitkin32.31%2,68562.93%5,2293.26%2711.48%1230.01%1-30.62%-2,5448,309
Anoka42.15%64,82551.21%78,7584.64%7,1331.94%2,9880.05%80-9.06%-13,933153,784
Becker30.41%4,43564.80%9,4503.28%4791.47%2150.03%5-34.39%-5,01514,584
Beltrami40.95%7,30652.92%9,4424.02%7172.09%3720.02%4-11.97%-2,13617,841
Benton28.89%4,65265.09%10,4803.97%6401.99%3210.06%9-36.19%-5,82816,102
Big Stone33.07%79262.13%1,4883.59%861.13%270.08%2-29.06%-6962,395
Blue Earth46.81%12,19247.54%12,3823.97%1,0341.67%4340.02%5-0.73%-19026,047
Brown28.81%3,30666.97%7,6862.77%3181.39%1590.06%7-38.17%-4,38011,476
Carlton46.01%7,18847.55%7,4294.08%6372.25%3520.10%16-1.54%-24115,622
Carver40.25%21,24755.00%29,0363.06%1,6141.66%8760.03%18-14.75%-7,78952,791
Cass29.85%4,49265.11%9,7992.94%4432.07%3110.04%6-35.26%-5,30715,051
Chippewa31.10%1,52164.44%3,1523.13%1531.29%630.04%2-33.35%-1,6314,891
Chisago31.83%8,11461.67%15,7204.45%1,1342.00%5100.04%11-29.84%-7,60625,489
Clay47.58%10,20446.60%9,9953.95%8481.75%3760.12%250.97%20921,448
Clearwater23.59%82971.97%2,5293.02%1061.42%500.00%0-48.38%-1,7003,514
Cook64.10%2,04831.77%1,0152.47%791.63%520.03%132.33%1,0333,195
Cottonwood26.09%1,19068.95%3,1453.31%1511.53%700.11%5-42.86%-1,9554,561
Crow Wing31.24%10,04263.37%20,3673.78%1,2161.58%5080.02%7-32.13%-10,32532,140
Dakota50.26%99,09044.70%88,1413.43%6,7581.52%2,9920.09%1875.55%10,949197,168
Dodge31.12%2,88464.64%5,9912.51%2331.68%1560.04%4-33.52%-3,1079,268
Douglas29.09%5,64267.18%13,0302.65%5141.05%2040.04%7-38.09%-7,38819,397
Faribault28.61%1,70066.87%3,9742.98%1771.50%890.05%3-38.26%-2,2745,943
Fillmore35.11%3,28560.07%5,6213.14%2941.60%1500.07%7-24.97%-2,3369,357
Freeborn36.31%4,64358.27%7,4513.70%4731.70%2170.02%3-21.96%-2,80812,787
Goodhue37.94%8,61057.27%12,9953.03%6881.73%3920.03%7-19.32%-4,38522,692
Grant33.81%98360.68%1,7643.72%1081.69%490.10%3-26.87%-7812,907
Hennepin64.66%363,20430.27%170,0333.28%18,4361.73%9,7190.06%33134.39%193,171561,723
Houston38.46%3,33357.02%4,9413.28%2841.23%1070.01%1-18.56%-1,6088,666
Hubbard32.00%3,37363.44%6,6862.90%3061.60%1690.05%5-31.44%-3,31310,539
Isanti27.21%5,04065.49%12,1294.70%8712.53%4690.06%11-38.28%-7,08918,520
Itasca39.25%8,25255.08%11,5803.85%8101.77%3720.04%9-15.83%-3,32821,023
Jackson27.22%1,22668.18%3,0712.84%1281.73%780.02%1-40.96%-1,8454,504
Kanabec28.03%1,96265.19%4,5634.33%3032.41%1690.04%3-37.16%-2,6017,000
Kandiyohi31.62%5,69263.89%11,5003.07%5521.40%2520.02%4-32.27%-5,80818,000
Kittson34.17%64059.26%1,1104.54%852.03%380.00%0-25.09%-4701,873
Koochiching36.07%1,86658.30%3,0163.65%1891.95%1010.02%1-22.23%-1,1505,173
Lac qui Parle33.38%1,04063.09%1,9662.28%711.16%360.10%3-29.72%-9263,116
Lake48.51%2,72745.95%2,5833.38%1902.10%1180.05%32.56%1445,621
Lake of the Woods24.79%44372.08%1,2882.24%400.84%150.06%1-47.29%-8451,787
Le Sueur30.67%3,97963.64%8,2563.89%5051.77%2290.03%4-32.97%-4,27712,973
Lincoln28.35%68367.29%1,6212.70%651.62%390.04%1-38.94%-9382,409
Lyon30.78%2,98664.73%6,2803.15%3061.30%1260.04%4-33.95%-3,2949,702
Mahnomen37.77%61355.95%9084.50%731.66%270.12%2-18.18%-2951,623
Marshall24.37%96971.66%2,8502.59%1031.31%520.08%3-47.30%-1,8813,977
Martin25.81%2,13469.25%5,7263.62%2991.31%1080.01%1-43.44%-3,5928,268
McLeod27.02%4,37167.59%10,9343.54%5731.82%2940.02%4-40.57%-6,56316,176
Meeker26.81%2,86168.13%7,2703.29%3511.70%1810.07%7-41.32%-4,40910,670
Mille Lacs27.34%2,98966.32%7,2514.29%4692.01%2200.05%5-38.98%-4,26210,934
Morrison21.02%3,20574.89%11,4212.74%4181.34%2050.01%2-53.87%-8,21615,251
Mower42.07%5,85551.81%7,2104.38%6091.69%2350.05%7-9.74%-1,35513,916
Murray26.49%1,02070.01%2,6962.60%1000.86%330.05%2-43.52%-1,6763,851
Nicollet46.47%6,98448.64%7,3103.24%4871.60%2400.06%9-2.17%-32615,030
Nobles28.44%1,70267.03%4,0113.09%1851.40%840.03%2-38.59%-2,3095,984
Norman37.16%90657.18%1,3943.81%931.68%410.16%4-20.02%-4882,438
Olmsted50.46%33,80046.03%30,8352.22%1,4861.27%8520.02%114.43%2,96566,984
Otter Tail29.47%8,29666.14%18,6162.95%8291.41%3970.03%8-36.67%-10,32028,146
Pennington31.56%1,69962.11%3,3444.42%2381.89%1020.02%1-30.55%-1,6455,384
Pine30.87%3,76762.51%7,6294.64%5661.92%2340.07%8-31.65%-3,86212,204
Pipestone22.14%82974.39%2,7862.38%891.07%400.03%1-52.26%-1,9573,745
Polk30.22%3,25365.34%7,0333.08%3321.32%1420.04%4-35.12%-3,78010,764
Pope32.16%1,80463.68%3,5722.78%1561.28%720.09%5-31.52%-1,7685,609
Ramsey65.44%138,67627.39%58,0354.47%9,4722.63%5,5690.07%14938.06%80,641211,901
Red Lake29.68%46364.87%1,0124.04%631.35%210.06%1-35.19%-5491,560
Redwood23.46%1,48972.08%4,5743.12%1981.31%830.03%2-48.61%-3,0856,346
Renville26.57%1,65067.75%4,2083.96%2461.67%1040.05%3-41.18%-2,5586,211
Rice46.65%13,04048.33%13,5103.23%9031.76%4920.03%7-1.68%-47027,952
Rock26.18%1,06870.21%2,8642.13%871.45%590.02%1-44.03%-1,7964,079
Roseau22.89%1,46773.11%4,6852.82%1811.17%750.00%0-50.22%-3,2186,408
Scott39.90%26,57955.09%36,6983.55%2,3621.43%9500.03%21-15.19%-10,11966,610
Sherburne29.34%12,01064.94%26,5823.82%1,5621.88%7700.03%12-35.60%-14,57240,936
Sibley24.72%1,60870.40%4,5803.27%2131.58%1030.03%2-45.68%-2,9726,506
St. Louis53.70%49,01039.79%36,3164.02%3,6652.43%2,2210.07%6213.91%12,69491,274
Stearns33.19%21,28461.65%39,5333.33%2,1361.74%1,1170.08%53-28.46%-18,24964,123
Steele34.55%5,61060.23%9,7813.37%5481.82%2960.02%4-25.69%-4,17116,239
Stevens33.67%1,34362.75%2,5032.21%881.35%540.03%1-29.08%-1,1603,989
Swift33.59%1,30261.95%2,4013.22%1251.19%460.05%2-28.35%-1,0993,876
Todd22.93%2,45772.00%7,7153.42%3661.59%1700.07%7-49.07%-5,25810,715
Traverse29.36%44664.91%9863.95%601.71%260.07%1-35.55%-5401,519
Wabasha32.53%3,44062.54%6,6133.22%3411.66%1760.04%4-30.01%-3,17310,574
Wadena24.09%1,42671.53%4,2343.04%1801.33%790.00%0-47.44%-2,8085,919
Waseca30.12%2,48464.29%5,3023.82%3151.72%1420.05%4-34.17%-2,8188,247
Washington48.45%62,08546.65%59,7723.08%3,9441.77%2,2670.05%641.81%2,313128,132
Watonwan32.95%1,25262.29%2,3673.00%1141.66%630.11%4-29.34%-1,1153,800
Wilkin26.88%68568.41%1,7433.30%841.26%320.16%4-41.52%-1,0582,548
Winona45.00% 9,09050.50%10,2013.06%6181.39%2800.05%10-5.50%-1,11120,199
Wright30.38%19,62463.64%41,1143.83%2,4722.11%1,3650.04%29-33.26%-21,49064,604
Yellow Medicine27.50%1,18967.85%2,9333.28%1421.34%580.02%1-40.34%-1,7444,323
Totals47.47%1,168,18547.13%1,159,7503.55%87,3861.80%44,2700.05%1,3410.34%8,4352,460,932

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Wilson won 5 of 8 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.[26]

DistrictBlahaWilsonRepresentative
40%55%Brad Finstad
47%48%Angie Craig
53%42%Dean Phillips
61%32%Betty McCollum
76%18%Ilhan Omar
35%59%Tom Emmer
29%66%Michelle Fischbach
40%54%Pete Stauber

Aftermath

On November 9, the day after the election, Blaha claimed victory in Minnesota's closest race of the year. She released a statement, reading in part: "Our victory is a message that Minnesotans want their auditor to continue to focus on local government, to ultimately protect our freedom to make decisions in our own communities."[27]

Ryan Wilson conceded the same day, saying that he planned to return to practicing law and fundraising for a baseball stadium at Hamel in Medina.

The 8,435-vote margin was slightly above the threshold for an automatic recount.

See also

External links

Official campaign websites

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Candidate Filings . 2022-09-27 . candidates.sos.state.mn.us.
  2. Web site: Minnesota Historical Election Archive . 2023-04-05 . Minnesota Historical Election Archive . en.
  3. Web site: Office of the State Auditor 2020-21 Biennial Budget Request. Minnesota Management and Budget. June 21, 2022.
  4. Web site: 2021 Financial and Compliance Report on Federally Assisted Programs. Minnesota Office of the State Auditor. August 13, 2022.
  5. Web site: Chapter 6., 2022 Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. June 21, 2022.
  6. Web site: Bierschbach . Briana . 2018-10-31 . In low-key state auditor's race, candidates struggle for attention . 2023-04-05 . MPR News . en.
  7. Web site: Callaghan . Peter . 2022-09-15 . Wait? There's a 'real issue' in the state auditor's race? . 2023-04-05 . MinnPost . en-US.
  8. Web site: Bierschbach . Briana . 2021-08-14 . Julie Blaha brings 'fresh attitude' to building back State Auditor's Office . 2022-10-06 . Star Tribune.
  9. Web site: Turtinen . Melissa . 2022-04-06 . Treasurer used city funds to pay bills, fund travel, Minnesota auditor finds . 2022-09-10 . FOX 9 . en-US.
  10. Web site: Lovrien . Jimmy . 2022-07-29 . State auditor: NE Minnesota mayor may not have disclosed all business interests when they went before city . 2022-09-10 . InForum . en.
  11. Web site: Montemayor . Stephen . 2021-07-03 . Changes to Minnesota's civil asset forfeiture laws pass Legislature . 2022-09-10 . Star Tribune.
  12. Web site: 2022-05-20 . DFL Party Endorses Julie Blaha for State Auditor . 2022-09-29 . Minnesota DFL . en-US.
  13. Web site: Chhith . Alex . 2021-11-16 . Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha announces bid for re-election . 2022-09-10 . Star Tribune.
  14. Web site: Montemayor . Stephen . 2022-01-31 . Two GOP candidates launch bids for Minnesota attorney general, state auditor . 2022-09-27 . Star Tribune.
  15. Web site: Orrick . Dave . 2022-05-13 . MN Republicans endorse Ryan Wilson for state auditor . 2023-04-05 . Pioneer Press . en-US.
  16. Web site: Lopez . Ricardo . 2022-06-06 . To counter GOP meddling, some cannabis activists pushed effort to change party name . 2022-10-20 . Minnesota Reformer . en-US.
  17. Web site: Pugmire . Tim . 2022-02-23 . Legal cannabis parties weigh election year strategy . 2022-12-04 . MPR News . en.
  18. Web site: What's on my ballot? . 2022-09-10 . Minnesota Secretary of State Online Voter Tools . en.
  19. Web site: Feeding Our Future, Attorney General Race, Opioid Crisis . October 19, 2022 . Twin Cities PBS.
  20. Web site: Feeding Our Future Fallout, Early Voting, Minneapolis Police Chief . October 19, 2022.
  21. Web site: 2022-09-20 . U.S. Attorney Announces Federal Charges Against 47 Defendants in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme . 2022-10-19 . U.S. Department of Justice.
  22. Web site: State Auditor Debate, Campaign News of the Week . October 17, 2022 . Twin Cities PBS.
  23. Web site: Ryan Wilson Continues to Misrepresent Office of the State Auditor, Misleading Voters . October 19, 2022 . Blaha for State Auditor.
  24. Web site: Medina . Regina . 2022-10-06 . Voter guide: See Minnesota auditor candidates' stances on key issues . 2022-10-20 . MPR News . en.
  25. Web site: Mulcahy . Mike . 2022-10-21 . Meet the candidates for Minnesota state auditor . October 22, 2022 . MPR News.
  26. Web site: Home - Election Results. electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. 15 April 2023.
  27. Web site: Olson . Rochelle . 2022-11-09 . State Auditor Blaha declares victory, Wilson concedes in closest statewide matchup . 2022-12-04 . Star Tribune.