WINONA, Minn. – A long-distance trucker, Stephen Doerr, wants to go to St. Paul to replace Gene Pelowski in the state House of Representatives. Doerr announced his candidacy in a news release. Doerr already has left-over yard signs from 2022 when he challenged Pelowski the first time. But Doerr now will need first to win the Republican endorsement as the GOP candidate for House District 26-A. Last week City Council member Aaron Repinski, also a Republican, announced his candidacy. This is early for candidacies – 11 months before the primary election and 12-1/2 months before the general election. This means that Doerr and Repinski both have time to assess public vibes about the viability of their candidacies before the official period opens to file candidacy papers. Pelowski, a Democrat, has confirmed he’s seeking a 20th term. Pelowski’s party endorsement seems assured. In 2022 Pelowski defeated Doerr by 1,742 votes — a 55% to 45% margin.
Doerr profile
Doerr likes talking about his roots in farming and long Winona memories: “Winona is home. From Cathedral grade school, Cotter, studies at Winona State University and SMU, I know Winona. Great Grandpa Leon Bronk would bring vegetables to town with horse-drawn wagons. Grandma Florence shared many stories of her and Rose having to walk the horses in the field. We grew up here. As a child I sold vegetables and berries we had picked off the farm. I’m raising my children here and want them to be safe, from the farm fields to fishing the river.”
NOTE: Some information that Doerr provided in his candidacy announcement was incomplete, contradictory or misleading. He has not responded to Winona Journal requests for clarifications.
Doerr. Sayd Democrats have been fleecing working people since gaining control of Minnesota state government in 2022.
Ages
Doerr: 50
Pelowski: 71
Repinsky: 50
Doerr platform
Doerr: “As I followed this last legislative session, I became worried for our future if we continue with DFL’s wasteful spending and overtaxing. Our school children and businesses are not safe under the DFL control. The DFL have doubled down on their social experiments over needed literacy, workforce and college readiness. I want to stop the Minnesota DFL from fleecing the working class of Winona County. I believe that the hard-working people of Winona County deserve more genuine representation.” These are among Doerr’s position on key issues, albeit mostly vague.
> Family Values. Favors traditional values, but he doesn’t define them.
> Guns. Pro Second Amendment but silent on common-sense limits.
> Schools. Supports parental rights in schools, which suggests he sees problems but doesnl’ spell them out. Against critical race theory in curriculums, which suggests he opposes sugar-coated histry over honest history.
> Economy. Supports cutting taxes and eliminating wasteful spending. He doesn’t define what’s wasteful and what isn’t. Supports not taxing Social Security payments
> Law and order. Supports police funding. Also keeping violent criminals in jail.
> Health care. Supports funding for nursing homes, for people with disabilities, and for people with mental health issues