Fraud shadows Minnesota Democrats as they head toward midterm elections

MINNEAPOLIS - State Sen. Heather Gustafson hears a lot about President Donald Trump when she knocks on doors in the northeast suburbs.

But the Vadnais Heights Democrat is also hearing about another issue: fraud.

"‘Are we going to clean things up or what?'" Gustafson recalled some voters asking her. "‘What's your plan to get this under control?'"

While Democrats nationwide are riding a wave of anti-Trump sentiment into the November midterm election, DFL candidates in Minnesota are having to convince voters their party has gotten serious about a sprawling fraud crisis in the state.

Four out of five voters surveyed in a June Minnesota Poll expressed some level of concern about fraud in the state's social services programs. More respondents said they trusted Republicans than Democrats to address the problem.

Republicans have made fraud the centerpiece of their statewide campaigns for governor, U.S. Senate and attorney general. But the issue could hold the greatest political weight in the battle for the Legislature, where control hinges on a handful of competitive districts in the suburbs and greater Minnesota.

While statewide races typically follow broader partisan patterns, legislative contests are often decided by swing voters focused on local issues. Even if Democrats maintain their hold on the governorship, failing to win legislative majorities could prevent a Klobuchar administration from getting a running start on her agenda.

GOP Sen. Michael Kreun, of Blaine, said fraud has become the "number one issue" he hears about on the campaign trail, with voters raising it more frequently than in previous election cycles.

"My constituents, they're working people," Kreun said. "They get up and go to work every day, and they feel like they're getting ripped off by people who don't work."

Fraud's political toll

Fraud has been generating headlines in Minnesota for years, most notably with the Feeding Our Future scheme, the swindling of $250 million in federal funds meant to feed children during the pandemic.

But public scrutiny intensified as allegations of widespread fraud surfaced in other state-funded programs, including housing and autism services. Once viewed as isolated cases, many voters came to see the cascading fraud as evidence of a broader oversight failure by DFL Gov. Tim Walz's administration.

Walz abandoned his reelection bid in January as he faced national scrutiny for his response to the fraud, illustrating how politically potent the issue had become. In the June Minnesota Poll, Walz's approval rating fell to its lowest point of his eight-year tenure.

With Walz out of the race, Republicans are now making the case that Democrats broadly allowed fraud to go unchecked.

Kreun has told constituents that state Senate Democrats "abdicated (their) responsibility to be a check on the Walz administration" by not holding confirmation hearings for many of the governor's commissioners. Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the Senate.

There should have been a hearing for Walz's human services commissioner, Kreun said, as fraud allegations were spreading in the agency's autism and housing stabilization programs.

"We should be using every tool at our disposal to bring accountability," he said.

In Anoka, GOP state Sen. Jim Abeler said fraud is a frequent topic of conversation among independent and Republican voters. People are angry that taxpayer money has been wasted while they're feeling the pressure of the economy, he said.

Voters have been clear about who they blame for the problem, Abeler said.

"It's pretty universal that they're blaming the governor and the administration," he said. "Nobody is saying the Republicans caused the fraud."

Rebuilding trust

Democrats are trying to confront the issue head-on, making fraud prevention a key part of their campaign platforms and running television ads that highlight the steps they have taken to address the problem.

A political action committee supporting state Senate Democrats is already on the airwaves in Gustafson's district, touting anti-fraud legislation she spearheaded to create a new Office of Inspector General.

Gustafson said she's told voters the state is headed in a "new direction" in the fight against fraud.

"We're going to have a new governor. We're going to have new heads of agencies," Gustafson said. "It is a new way forward with a brand-new office whose sole purpose is to track tax dollars and make sure they're going where they're supposed to go."

"When you tell people that, I think they feel a little bit like, ‘OK, you're taking it seriously and you have come up with some solutions.'"

Democratic newcomers are touting their own fraud-fighting ideas and credentials, while emphasizing they were not in state government when the crisis unfolded.

"People tend to blame everyone who has been in the Legislature or at the state level for the past few years," said Kristy Janigo, who is running for retiring GOP Sen. Warren Limmer's seat. "They feel maybe there could have been more done to stop this."

Janigo has pointed to her experience as a Maple Grove City Council member, saying she made sure taxpayer money went where it was supposed to. She said she wants the state to conduct more in-person site visits to providers to make sure services are being delivered.

Democrat Nat Smith has made fraud the focal point of his campaign against GOP Sen. Karin Housley in Stillwater. In his work as an attorney, Smith said he has fought fraud and represented whistleblowers.

During this year's legislative session, Smith worked on his own time with DFL Sen. Ron Latz to introduce a bill that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers. Smith said his work has resonated with voters.

"People are kind of tired of the finger-pointing and the blame game because that doesn't advance the needle," he said.

Will Trump outweigh fraud?

While fraud is certainly weighing on their campaigns, Democrats say voters are expressing greater concern about affordability and Trump's second term.

Trump's approval rating in Minnesota fell to 41% in the June poll. Fifty-five percent of Minnesotans polled said they disapproved of how Trump has handled the economy.

Gustafson said some voters have had only one question for her: Does she support Trump?

"He has been so laser-focused on getting revenge on Minnesota," Gustafson said, from cutting federal funding to the state to deploying thousands of ICE agents over the objections of local officials.

"For a lot of people, they don't think of Donald Trump as being a federal issue," she said. "They think of Donald Trump as being a direct enemy of Minnesota, and they feel like he is personally coming after our state."

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 4:05 AM.