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The Republican war is making the rich even richer while working people pay the price at the grocery store, at the pharmacy, at the gas pump and in their taxes. Enough is enough. Let’s vote smarter next time.
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Proudly Serving South-Central Minnesota
We want Minnesotans to have decent wages; affordable housing, food, childcare; and above all, healthcare. Minnesota Farmers put food on our tables, and feed much of the rest of the country. Our manufacturers fuel our economy and keep goods in our stores. Our service workers are among the best in the country. Working class Minnesotans built our state and sustain our way of life. They are our fathers, our mothers, our brothers and sisters. That’s why we fight for them.
Our Endorsed Candidates
Sonja Denn is a lifelong Minnesotan and 30-year resident of Lake Crystal and Garden City who has been endorsed by Senate District 22 DFL as its candidate for Minnesota House seat 22A. The district encompasses parts of Blue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Jackson, and Watonwan Counties, where Denn has deep roots and an even deeper understanding of the challenges facing rural communities.
Denn's path to public service was shaped by real-life experience rather than political ambition. She attended college while working full-time and raising four children, ultimately building a professional career in Human Resources. That foundation of perseverance and personal responsibility has defined how she approaches community work ever since.
Her professional background reflects a genuine commitment to service. She has worked as a transitional housing case manager at a local homeless shelter, where she developed a firsthand understanding of the needs of struggling individuals and families in the region. She also served as a local union representative for AFSCME Council 65, representing workers from New Ulm to Fairmont and Blue Earth — giving her broad exposure to the concerns of working people across the district.
Living in Garden City, Denn has watched with concern as the infrastructure of small rural communities has gradually deteriorated. Towns like Good Thunder, Vernon Center, Rapidan, Winnebago, and Garden City itself reflect a pattern she believes demands attention and investment. For Denn, this is not a policy abstraction — it is her neighborhood.
"Small communities need rehabilitation," she has said, and her career choices suggest she means it. Whether working with families on the edge of homelessness or advocating for workers navigating labor issues, Denn has consistently placed herself where the need is greatest.
She challenges the notion that effective leadership requires distance from hardship. "I believe that those who have struggled firsthand are uniquely positioned to understand, relate to, and advocate for the real needs of the community," Denn has stated. It is a perspective shaped not by ideology, but by experience.
As she challenges incumbent Rep. Bjorn Olson for the House 22A seat, Denn brings to the race something that cannot be manufactured — the credibility of a neighbor who has done the work, raised a family, and remained committed to the communities she calls home.
House 22A
House 22BThe Senate District 22 DFL officially endorsed Mary Nesgoda on March 7, 2026, as its candidate for the Minnesota State House seat 22B — a district that encompasses most of Le Sueur County, Erin Township in Rice County, the City of Belle Plaine, Belle Plaine, Blakely, and St. Lawrence townships in Scott County.
Nesgoda, a 25-year resident of District 22, is challenging incumbent Rep. Terry Stier for the seat.
A recently retired business professional, Nesgoda brings more than four decades of experience in the dessert industry. What began as a career decorating cakes grew into roles spanning corporate production, research and development, and regulatory compliance — overseeing hundreds of employees across multiple production facilities throughout the United States. It's a career arc she sees as central to her campaign message.
"I was fortunate to have a career that took me from the ground floor to the top," Nesgoda said. "That doesn't work for many people anymore. Minnesota currently faces many challenges, and I believe that my career, life experiences and determination make me the best candidate to help facilitate the needed changes."
That sense of purpose, Nesgoda says, was shaped early. She credits her parents and the School Sisters of Notre Dame with instilling in her a deep commitment to social justice and civic responsibility — values she has carried throughout her professional life and now hopes to bring to the Capitol.
Now that she's retired, Nesgoda says she feels called to put her skills to work for others. "There are so many people that have worked as hard as I have and haven't been as blessed as I have been," she reflected.
Her campaign is also focused on bridging the partisan divide that she believes has stalled meaningful progress at the state level. With experience managing complex organizations and navigating competing priorities across the business world, Nesgoda believes she is uniquely equipped to find common ground.
"With current partisan governments we are unable to get many changes approved and implemented," she said. "I have communication and negotiation experience that will help both sides work together."
For District 22B residents looking for a candidate rooted in the community, seasoned by real-world experience, and motivated by genuine concern for working families, Mary Nesgoda offers a compelling case for change.
Madelia native Marisa Ulmen was endorsed by the Senate District 22 DFL on March 7, 2026, as the party's candidate for the Minnesota State Senate. She will be running for the seat currently held by Sen. Rich Draheim, (R-Madison Lake), who has announced he will not seek re-election.
Senate District 22 is a wide-ranging rural district stretching from Belle Plaine in Scott County in the north to the Iowa state line in Martin County to the south. The district includes all of Le Sueur County except two precincts in Kasota and Kasota Township, Erin Township in Rice County, and portions of Blue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Jackson, and Watonwan Counties, Belle Plaine, along with three townships in Scott County. It is a district defined by its small towns, family farms, and tight-knit communities — places like Winnebago, Waterville, Blue Earth, Le Center and Sherburn— where neighbors have long relied on one another and where the challenges of rural life are felt firsthand.
Ulmen brings a deeply rooted agricultural perspective to her candidacy. A fifth-generation farmer, she and her husband raise row crops and alfalfa and tend to livestock, including a herd of approximately 30 milk goats. That hands-on experience, she says, gives her a firsthand understanding of what it takes to sustain a healthy rural economy.
"I believe in neighbors taking care of neighbors and communities coming together to support each other," said Ulmen. "I believe we need to strengthen those ties and keep young families in our communities — and that starts with affordable housing, day care, quality education and rural health care, as well as decent jobs and reliable internet."
Ulmen says she is motivated by a desire to bring greater Minnesota's concerns directly to the state legislature. "The Democratic Rural Voice hasn't been heard in a long time. We need a government that works for ALL of us. Rural communities need a voice. I want to be that voice. I want to be the conduit for greater Minnesota to the Metro area. We can't expect government to know what we need if we don't tell them."
Senate District 22Farmers
who want fair prices and markets for their crops, and who need government to support them instead of their international competitors.
Our People
Workers
who want wages that will cover the real cost of living, and who need affordable childcare and health insurance.
Seniors
who want to get back all the social security they paid in; and who need to know that Medicare will still be there when they need it.
Young people
who want to know they won’t be burdened with 50 year mortgages and a lifetime of student debt; and who need a chance to have children and raise families of their own.
Childcare
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Housing
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Healthcare
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Social Security
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Medicare
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Childcare . Housing . Healthcare . Social Security . Medicare .
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Want to Know Where Your Donations Go?
We won’t just ask you for money; we’ll tell you how we spend it.
If you donate to our Media Campaign Fund, we will use it to build the DFL brand and community in south central Minnesota, through radio ads, social media, print ads, billboards and more. And when we do, there will be email, and social media announcements saying exactly what station, what paper, or what location, and what message. See videos of all our ads here.
If you donate to our General Fund, it will be used only on our operating expenses to help endorse and elect DFL candidates for MN Senate District 22, and MN House Districts 22A & 22B, because that’s our sole reason for existence. We want to elect Democrats in SD22 , and keep a strong DFL legislature to stand up to the assaults on Minnesota from Washington D.C. Postage, printing, postcard campaigns, parades, PO box rent, it’s all detailed in our annual report.
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