Friends and neighbors,

I wanted to provide an update on Minnesota's budget picture. On Thursday, February 29, the state’s Office of Management and Budget issued a new economic report. That report shows Minnesota has a surplus of $3.7 billion for the rest of this budget cycle. It also shows that we are facing a concerning $1.5 billion structural deficit.

What does that mean? It means Minnesota is spending more than it collects from taxpayers. And obviously Minnesota already collects a lot.

Just one year ago, we had a massive $19 billion state surplus. However, the Democrats who have complete control of Minnesota government spent the entire surplus, increased government spending by a crazy 40%, and imposed $10 billion in tax increases. If not for those tax hikes, we would have a budget deep in the red right now.

The reality is that we are spending way beyond our means. The Democrats’ uncontrollable addiction to spending is putting our state in financial jeopardy, and taxpayers are going to be on the hook when the bill comes due. Minnesota families literally cannot afford to have Democrats in charge of the budget.

This path is simply not sustainable. We have to put this state back on track.

Please reach out with any questions or feedback on the budget situation.