A fourth candidate has emerged in the 1st District congressional race after he gathered the necessary 1,000 signatures to file.
Over 10 days, Rochester resident Lars Johnson made 26 stops across southern Minnesota to get those signatures. State law requires independent and minor party candidates to get signatures in order to be placed on the November ballot.
Johnson, a food safety instructor, joins two other challengers looking to unseat 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz. They are GOP-endorsed candidate state Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield and Independence Party-endorsed candidate Steven Wilson of Rochester.
Johnson said his priority, if elected, would be identifying programs being run by the federal government that are not authorized in the U.S. Constitution and getting rid of them, including the recent federal health care law.
"Nowhere in the Constitution was the government given purview over health care," he said.
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He also said the federal government has overstepped its authority by bailing out banks and car companies.
When asked what makes him think he can win the race given he has no political party support and limited campaign funds, Johnson said he is looking to appeal to independent voters and disillusioned Democrats and Republicans.
"The largest voting block is the unaffiliated and there are a lot of people that are frustrated on both sides of the aisle. I know that by talking to people," he said.
