Moen officially announces he'll challenge Nelson

With a crowd of roughly 20 supporters looking on, Rochester trial attorney Ken Moen announced he is running against GOP Sen. Carla Nelson. The Democrat said he was inspired to run after watching the lead up to the government shutdown and the refusal of Nelson to support tax increases to help balance the budget.

"I thought that was very poor representation, and now we've got a bigger hole to dig ourselves out of as a result of what didn't happen," Moen said.

He also blasted Nelson for not supporting the Mayo Civic Center expansion and having "fled from serving on the health and human services committee despite the fact that she represents a community with the Mayo Clinic, the state's largest private employer."

In an interview before today's official announcement, Nelson disputed Moen's claim she does not support the Mayo Civic Center expansion.

Moen said his 34 years of experience as a trial lawyer make him a "seasoned negotiator," which will help him as a legislator. He also emphasized he is willing to compromise

"We cannot continue to be represented by people who only vote "no" and refuse to make a credible effort for the citizens, employers and interests of their districts," he said.

Comments

[Melissa]

Ugh! We don't need any more big spending Liberals representing Rochester!

Senator Carla Nelson is an excellent representative and we are lucky to have her.

Thank you Sen. Nelson for your service in our community.