Lisa Demuth, the Republican nominee for governor of Minnesota, wants voters to see her as a dealmaker. As speaker of a tied Minnesota House, she says, she governed from the middle. "I am there to serve the people of Minnesota," she told the Star Tribune.
But the Star Tribune dug into her record this week, and found a politician who has "reliably fought for conservative priorities on abortion access, transgender health care and education policy." And when she needed her party's base to win the nomination, she told them so.
What she told the Republican convention
At the state GOP convention this year, Demuth handed out a flyer saying she "fights and wins for the MAGA agenda." It played up her push to end state-subsidized health coverage for adult undocumented immigrants. And it said she "led the effort to stop the Democrats from taking our guns."
She also emphasized her anti-abortion bills. That was the version of Lisa Demuth that convention activists got. It isn't the version in her TV ads now.
Her record on abortion
In 2021, Demuth introduced H.F. 262, a bill "prohibiting abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected with certain exceptions." Her opponent's campaign says those exceptions did not include rape or incest.
Now she calls the right to an abortion in Minnesota "settled law." But the Star Tribune reports she has also pledged to appoint conservative judges, who could play a role in limiting it.
Her record on guns
After the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, the state Senate passed a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. As House speaker, Demuth blocked it, the Star Tribune reports. She says it stalled in a House committee; Democrats held a days-long sit-in demanding a vote. Polling shows those policies have majority support in Minnesota.
Instead, Demuth and House Republicans proposed more money for private school security and mental health. They also proposed reversing Minnesota's ban on conversion therapy, the discredited practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. The Star Tribune calls that an apparent response to the shooter's gender identity.
Her answer on 2020
Demuth won't say Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election.
In July, the Star Tribune asked her whether that election was rigged. "The way that I look at it is President Trump is our president now, he won in 2024, that is what we're working with right now," she said. Asked again who won in 2020, she said: "Looks like President Biden was our president in 2020."
That's not an answer to the question. This week, her campaign declined to answer any more questions about it.
The Star Tribune also reports that after delegates at the GOP convention held a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, Demuth distanced herself from it. But she would not rule out supporting a pardon for him.
Her ads now
Since winning the nomination in August, Demuth has run on affordability, fraud and public safety. But the Star Tribune says her campaign ads have still tied Minnesota's Somali community to fraud and violence.
Demuth's style is calm, and she doesn't trade insults. That's real. But a calm style isn't the same thing as a moderate record. In January 2025, she had herself elected speaker in a session the state Supreme Court later said never legally happened.
What the record shows
Lisa Demuth is asking Minnesota to see her as a bipartisan dealmaker. To win her party's nomination, she handed out a flyer saying she "fights and wins for the MAGA agenda." Her record includes a 2021 fetal-heartbeat abortion ban, blocking an assault-weapons ban after the Annunciation shooting, and a pledge to appoint conservative judges. She still won't say Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.
Source
Minnesota Star Tribune: Lisa Demuth is running as a moderate. Her record is conservative.
