Dornink seeks re-election to Senate

This fall’s political landscape is beginning to take shape as Sen. Gene Dornink, who represents District 23, has announced he is seeking re-election.

His announcement coincides with last weekend’s District 23A Republican endorsing convention in Albert Lea where he received the party nod. During the convention, Dornink earned the endorsement on the first vote 78-3 over challenger Cynthia Gale of Albert Lea.

Also at the convention, Nick Ronnenberg received the endorsement for House 23A seat being vacated by Rep. Peggy Bennett, who is running for governor. Ronnenberg defeated his opponent Keith Van Beek 50-16.

House District 23B Rep. Patty Mueller of Austin, who did not have any Republican challengers, received the party’s endorsement.

Prior to Saturday, Dornink, of Brownsdale, had not made any public announcement regarding his re-election plans. Dornink has served as senator since 2020 when he was elected for a two-year term. He was re-elected to a four-year term in 2022 after redistricting took place.

Dornink’s district covers southern Steele County, most of Freeborn and Mower counties and portions of Waseca and Faribault counties.

“I want to continue serving the people with the knowledge I have gained over the past six years,” said Dornink, noting there was a steep learning curve for him when he took office.

The most pressing issue currently Minnesotans face is fraud, according to Dornink. “We need to get a handle on the fraud, which is out of control,” he said, pointing to the estimated $9 billion fraud facing Minnesota.

Dornink blames Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and other Democrats for the massive fraud situation Minnesota has found itself in. “It appears there is strong evidence that they knew about the fraud,” he said. “I hope we find out who is accountable. That money was stolen from the citizens of Minnesota.”

For example, Dornink is convinced had the fraud not taken place the Leo Augusta Children’s Academy in Blooming Prairie would likely still be open today. After only two years of operation, the facility shut down abruptly last year, citing lack of funding support from the state.  

Reflecting on his successes while in office, Dornink cited his work on conference committees when negotiating with House democrats to get bills to the floor to pass into law. He carried the bill to fund the money to reopen many of the DMV offices that were shut down during COVID-19. “I’m not sure how many would have stayed closed without that funding,” he said.

Dornink also joined in on the bill to remove/repeal social security tax for all Minnesotans. He said he wanted to use the $19 billion surplus for that purpose, but it didn’t happen because of the Democratic trifecta in place.

“Government has a spending problem,” Dornink said. “When democrats took total control, government spending increased by almost 40%.”

He admits that not being in the majority makes the job tougher for lawmakers like himself. “We have not been able to make the progress that I would like to see,” Dornink said. “It has changed a lot over the past few years. There used to be more collaboration and working together,” he added.

Despite being what he considers “a difficult job,” Dornink is ready to serve another term. “We will work very hard to win back the majority in the Senate to bring fiscal discipline and will need to address many of the unintended consequences caused by one party rule,” he said, adding he wants to participate in those solutions.

“Serving is a privilege, and I would be honored to serve another term.”

Steele County’s endorsing convention for District 19 candidates will take place Saturday, April 18.