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Four men are vying to fill the governor's mansion as two-term DFLer Mark Dayton prepares to leave the office.

The frontrunners are Jeff Johnson, the Republican Hennepin County Commissioner, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, who represents much of southern Minnesota in Congress.

Two minor party candidates are also running: Libertarian Josh Welter and Chris Wright with the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis party.

Which gubernatorial candidate you agree with most?

Election 2018

Your need-to-know guide

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Get a printable version of the guide here

MPR News has researched the candidates' stands on several major issues based on their stated platforms and other public remarks.

President Trump

Gun control

Health care

K-12 education

Higher education

Immigration

Abortion

Jobs and economy

Climate change

Copper-nickel mining

Taxes and gov't spending

Marijuana

 After Trump became the Republican presidential nominee in 2016, Johnson supported Trump. He has 

 Welter does not support Trump. MPR News has reached out for comment and will update this post as the campaign responds.

 Wright says he believes questions about the president aren't an issue to Minnesotans. 

 and says, "Self-defense is a fundamental individual right and creating new 'gun control' restrictions on law-abiding citizens will only leave guns in the hands of criminals."

 from the National Rifle Association in his congressional campaigns, but says he has donated that money to a charity for families of troops killed in combat. He supports an assault weapons ban in Minnesota, universal background checks and state-funded gun violence research. He opposes so-called 

 He wants to maintain the current laws and focus on the issues of family breakdowns, mental health issues and some school policies on discipline. 

 Wright supports putting an immediate temporary restraining order on people with a high chance to commit suicide purchasing a weapon.

 of the Affordable Care Act and calls MNsure a "complete disaster." Johnson wants Minnesota to abandon parts of the ACA under federal waivers and wants to create a system for buying insurance across state lines as a means of boosting competition on the insurance market. 

a single-payer type system is on Minnesota's horizon

 the state's public health care option for low-income people, MinnesotaCare, to all Minnesotans, if they choose to buy in. 

 support any new fees or taxes to pay for health-related issues.

 and wants Minnesota to opt out of MNsure and the Affordable Care Act in favor of a single-payer system.  Wright is also critical of "

 the K-12 education funding formula, start to eliminate some of the state mandates on schools and teachers, and "do everything possible to allow real education choice for every parent in Minnesota." He also says he will take on "political indoctrination" of children in some public schools and pay teachers 

 "fully and equitably fund our schools and reject the budgetary gimmicks we've used in the past." He also supports universal pre-K and wants to "nix" voucher programs. 

 and supports making it easier for people to become teachers. 

 Wright says Minnesota's education should be more like Finland's, noting the country's 

higher education requirements for becoming a teacher and its free day care programs

 and trade schools. Johnson says on student loan debt, "one solution is to break the government's near monopoly on student loans and empower the free-market" by allowing private investment options. 

 at Minnesota state schools for students whose families make less than $125,000 per year. He also believes the state should "

 high schools where
schools partner with higher education institutions to offer a 2 year degree upon completion of high school" and make career and technical schools more accessible. 

 Welter does not appear to have a public stance on education policy. MPR News has reached out for comment and will update this post as the campaign responds.

 provide a two-year tuition-free higher education which includes trade school."

 Johnson wants local law enforcement to be able to work with federal authorities on immigration enforcement and opposes "sanctuary" policies. He also says the federal refugee resettlement program has "

" for Minnesota and would seek an immediate halt to the program. 

should not be tasked with enforcing federal immigration laws

, a practice followed by so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. He also supports providing protection for 

people brought to the U.S. without documentation as children

 Welter says the U.S. should open its borders and allow more people to enter the country.

 Wright says immigration policy should be left to the federal government. 

pro-Life and believes in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death

 Welter does not appear to have a public position on abortion. MPR News has reached out for comment and will update this post as the campaign responds.

 and says "the decision to have an abortion should be strictly between a woman and her doctor."

 He says ending "over-regulation" would help the economy grow and pledges to 

eliminate one regulation for everyone his administration would create

" including transportation, housing, water and broadband infrastructure. 

 by 10 percent per year over the four-year governor's term and wants to eliminate the "Met Council and other wasteful and non-representative government entities."

 Wright, former owner of a Bloomington, Minn., computer shop, says "the evidence is absolutely clear that locally owned businesses and local self-reliance is 

believes climate change legislation is costly

 and efforts to mitigate global warming would be ineffective. "We have to end that era of making decisions that hurt people because it makes politicians look good or feel good," he said in a debate. 

supports increasing Minnesota's renewable energy standard

 so that at least half the state's energy comes from renewable sources by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

 Welter does not appear to have a public stance on climate change. MPR News has reached out for comment and will update this post as the campaign responds.

 and proposes a law saying "All new electrical power generation shall be renewable."

 for copper-nickel mining projects in northern Minnesota. 

 mining project moving through a review and permitting process, but 

 behind the Twin Metals mining project, which is near the Boundary Waters. 

 when it comes to mining projects, and that he's concerned with a mine near the Boundary Waters.

, and is "not convinced" a mining operation won't leave behind pollution in Minnesota.

" income tax cuts, to end automatic tax increases, eliminate the statewide business property tax and put a cap on property tax hikes. He also wants to audit every state program funded by taxpayers and create a program for giving tax surplus revenue back to taxpayers, rather than the government spending it. 

 and other breaks for low- and middle-class people. He's pledging to increase the gas tax to cover fixes for the state's "

" and says he'd bring local government aid back to pre-Pawlenty administration levels. 

 each year of the four-year governor term, if elected. "Let's stop asking what the government can do for us," he 

 that reduces taxes for people with less ability to pay and shift taxes to those with the most ability to pay treats taxpayers fairly."

taxation and regulation system for adult-use cannabis

 in Minnesota. African Americans in Minnesota are negatively and disproportionately impacted by these laws."

 Welter supports legal recreational marijuana and would "

 of marijuana for recreational use. "Let's abolish routine pre-employment drug testing; free all cannabis prisoners, including those on probation; and expunge all judicial, police and private computer records."

This post was updated Oct. 22 with more information from the Wright campaign.

Politics and Government News

Minnesota Votes

NewsPartners

Cody Nelson

Author

Republican Jeff Johnson, DFLer Tim Walz and two third-party candidates are running for governor. Here's where they stand on the issues.

Minnesota voter guide: Where the candidates for governor stand on major issues

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