MINNEAPOLIS – The MN-3 Congressional seat being vacated by presidential hopeful Dean Phillips already has three candidates announcing their candidates. Others are in the wings.
Ron Harris. Harris worked on a successful Al Franken campaign for the U.S. Senate. He has been a member of the Democratic National Committee. He served as the chief resilience officer for Hennepin County through the CoVid pandemic and when George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. He doesn’t live in MN-3 but says he’s “a product of the district.” He notes that he grew up in Coon Rapids, that his mother was an assistant principal in the district, and that his churches in the district: “Those are the values that have shaped me.” As a resilience officer, he said, he helped countless homeless families in the district. He. is a graduate of Hampton University 9n Virginia. Age 34. He has never elected office.
Blaize Harty. A Republican. Harty emphasizes growing up in poverty but pulling himself up by the bootstraps. He’ was a muscled male model from age of 16 to 25. Later he started a door-to-door window company from scratch in California. He operated a construction business and seasonal other companies in Florida, specializing in building and repairing lanais. He values physical fitness and lifts weights five or six days a week and trains in Thai boxing. These activities, he says, have prepared for him Congress despite lacking a political background. He says he’s in tune with “the needs of the average American.” Over the years he has had several arrests. These include impaired driving, both of automobiles and a motorboat; fleeing police; and failing to pay bills. He lives in Carter on the Minnesota River. Age 38.
Kelly Morrison. She was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2023 and previously served two terms in the House. In all three elections, her victory margins were narrow. From the MN-3 town of Deephaven on Lake Minnetonka. She is a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist with a medical degree from Case Western University in Ohio. She holds an undergraduate degree from Yale. She was a classmate of Phillips at the private Blake prep school in Minneapolis. They remain friends: ““He was exactly the same guy he is today.” Age 54.
Known to be considering candidacies:
> Zack Stephenson, a state representative, a Democrat from Coon Rapids, an attorney. First elected in 2018.
> Steve Simon, secretary of state, also a Democrat. First elected in 2014. Also a former assistant attorney general.
The political parties’ primary elections to narrow the field are nine months away in August.