On Thursday, four of our six candidates for governor visited Bemidji for a debate co-sponsored by the Beltrami County Republicans and the BSU College Republicans.

Congratulations to Marty Seifert, who won the debate by finishing with 41% of the vote in our straw poll held at the conclusion of the debate.  Polling behind Seifert were Dave Thompson (34%), Rob Farnsworth (14%) and Jeff Johnson (11%).  Republican Gubernatorial candidates Scott Honour and Kurt Zellers were unable to attend.

If you missed the debate, you can watch it live on Upstream TV (channel 18 in Bemidji) on Monday Feb 17, Wednesday Feb 19 and Friday Feb 21 at 7pm each evening.

Click here to read coverage of the Debate from the front page of the Bemidji Pioneer.


Coverage of the debate on Lakeland News:

The Beltrami County Republicans, along with the Bemidji State University College Republicans, are excited to announce that a major Republican candidate debate will take place on Thursday, February 13 at 6:30pm, between the Republican gubernatorial hopefuls.

The debate will run from 6:30pm to 8:15pm followed by a reception, during which you can meet and visit with our candidates for governor.  The debate will be held at the Bangsberg Hall Main Stage on the BSU campus (click here for map).

Debate format will include questions prepared by the debate committee, questions submitted by the audience, and questions prepared by the candidates themselves.  We will hold a straw poll at the conclusion of the debate, allowing all in attendance to vote for the candidate they prefer.

Our candidates for governor Rob Farnsworth, Jeff Johnson, Marty Seifert and Dave Thompson are all confirmed as participants.  Scott Honour's participation is pending confirmation.  The one other Republican candidate, Kurt Zellers, is unable to attend due to a family committment that day.

The Debate is being co-sponsored by the Beltrami County Republicans and the Bemidji State University College Republicans.  Admission will be free, with a voluntary donation to cover our expenses.

Stewart Mills, vice president of Mills Fleet Farm and Republican candidate for US Congress (MN8) will visit our monthly committee meeting this Monday Evening, January 6, at 6:00pm at the Luekens North meeting room in Bemidji (map).

If you are a concerned American who cares about the direction of our country and are interested in getting more involved, we invite you to attend our meeting on Monday.  You will have an opportunity to meet and visit with Stewart and hear his passion for turning around our country.

Following our discussion with Stewart, we will commence with our regular business meeting, where will be discussing and organizing our important upcoming events, including caucus, our gubernatorial debate and our county convention.  This is your opportunity to learn more and get involved in our local effort.

Our meeting begins at 6:00pm with an open discussion and visiting time, during which you are free to buy and eat food from the adjacent deli.  Stewart will speak and answer questions at 6:30pm.  Our meeting usually adjourns around 8:00pm.

For more information, call our chairman Ken Cobb at 218.333.8616 (home) or 218.444.9360 (office).

This invitation to attend and meet Stewart Mills is being extended to local Republicans and conservatives who are interested in getting more involved in local Republican activities.  This is a private meeting which is closed to the press and general public.  

It is the policy of the the Beltrami County Republicans to pass along information regarding local
appearances of unendorsed Republican candidates, upon their request or at our discretion.  At this time, we have not yet endorsed any candidate, and  our promotion of this appearance should not be considered an endorsement.

On July 1 of this year, the Political Contribution Refund program was reinstated, allowing any Minnesota voter to donate up to $50 per person or $100 per couple to the qualifying candidate or party unit of his/her choice.  (Learn more)

The Democrats are working hard to ensure that they bring in more refunds using this program in 2013 than the Republicans do.  Today is the last day to beat them at their own game.

The stakes could not be higher in next year's 2014 elections.  We have an all-important race for governor.  And we will have a chance to shift the power in the state house from Democrat and Republican.  In addition, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor will all be
up for election.  To say nothing of our chance to unseat Al Franken and perhaps take control of the US Senate.

Tomorrow the clock resets on the Political Contribution Refund program, and it will be too late to make your 2013 donation.  Today is the day to beat the DFL in the 2013 fundraising battle, which will help determine how elections go this coming year.

To participate in the program by making us your 2013 refundable donation, click the button below and make your donation to us securely via credit card.  We will then mail you everything you need to request your refund (request your refund by April 15, 2014).  You must complete your online donation to us before midnight tonight!

Many of us remember the "I'm a Mac / I'm a PC" ads from a few years ago.  The Republican National Committee's recently released parodies are entertaining and definitely get the point accross.  Here are three of our favorites: