Politics & Government
Rosemount Rep. Kurt Bills Running for U.S. Senate
Announced his plans to run against Amy Klobuchar on Thursday morning in Rosemount.
Kurt Bills is running for U.S. Senate.
The first-term Representative from District 37B made that announcement Thursday morning in downtown Rosemount, where his political career began less than four years ago.
“This is where I wanted to be to make this announcement, right in the center of this city and right where this all started,” he said. “There are many things around here around this area that I've been a part of.”
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About three dozen people gathered for Bills' announcement, including area residents, Republican party officials and reporters from a number of Twin Cities media outlets.
“Voters from Rosemount sent me 300 yards down that road to the city council, and we paid down debt,” Bills said, pointing down 145th St. “And voters from Rosemount and Apple Valley sent me 22 miles up Highway 3 to the State Capitol to control spending and create efficiencies.
Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“And now I'll ask Minnesotans to send me 1,100 miles east to bring Economics 101 to Washington. And that's why I'm here today, to announce that I will seek the Republican endorsement to serve Minnesota in the U.S. Senate.”
Bills was first elected to the Rosemount City Council in November 2008. According to Bills' website, he was the top vote-getter out of 26 candidates in that election, despite spending just $500 on his campaign and not putting up one yard sign.
His tenure on the city council was short-lived. He ran a successful campaign for the Minnesota House in 2010, and resigned his position on the city council in December of that year. Now after just two years in the House, Bills is again ready to seek higher office.
“My only aspirations lie in fixing what is broken and standing up for our future generations,” he said. “Believe me, it would be easier to stay home with my family, but I care too much about them, about our state and about our country to sit back and take the easy road.”
This leaves an opening in District 37B, which because of state redistricting. Rosemount resident Jeff Wilfahrt already in the district election this fall.
Others who have thrown their names into the hat, looking for the GOP endorsement to challenge Klobuchar, are state Rep. Dave Severson and military veteran Pete Hegseth, according to the Associated Press.
Check back later for more details on Bills' candidacy.
