RED WING, Minn. – Book shop owner Richard DeVoe announced his candidacy to represent southern Minnesota in Congress. To about 20 supporters at John Rich Park in Red Wing, DeVoe called for a federal jobs guarantee for everyone. Such a guarantee had been part of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid for the presidency in 2020.  DeVoe said there’s nothing revolutionary about a government jobs guarantee. “Full employment has been part of the policy discourse in the United States since the early 20th century,” DeVoe said. “One of the most notable proponents of true full employment — defined as an economy in which any person who seeks a job can secure one — was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.” DeVoe cited a 2018 Civis Analytics poll that 52% of respondents favored a jobs guarantee.

Spousal endorsement

Malinchoc DeVoe: “The first thing that struck me about him is how confident and enthusiastic and determined he is. And those are the qualities I would hope that every Minnesotan has within them when they’re facing an uphill climb of any sort.”

DeVoe. Owns Fair Trade Book Store in downtown Red Wing. He buys and sells books. Does searches and special orders.

Verbatim

DeVoe: “My admonition in this campaign, as I go around District 1, is to ask each Democrat to be a better Democrat; to see what they have within themselves to step up. Because we need to pinch ourselves, this is not a dream. It is not a dream. We’ve got an opposition party that really isn’t even a party anymore: It’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Trumping.”

The process

If DeVoe wins the Democratic primary in May, he will be on the special election ballot in August against whomever Republicans nominate. Now the only declared GOP candidate is Bob Carney of Minneapolis, who doesn’t live in the MN-1 Congressional district. At issue is who will succeed the late Jim Hagedorn, a Republican from Blue Earth, who died in office February 17.