Race for Senate continues

CSB+SJU students in the classes Argumentation and Advocacy and Public Speaking will find themselves sitting across from communication professor and Sen. Aric Putnam this fall semester.

Putnam is running for re-election to represent Senate District 14, which covers St. Cloud and the surrounding area. He is running against Republican Bernie Perryman, a two-term member of the Minnesota House and local business owner.

With Election Day approaching on Nov. 3, both candidates have outlined their priorities for the district. At the Sept. 16 candidate forum, Perryman identified three goals she would prioritize if elected: addressing fraud in Minnesota, improving affordability and addressing health care.

“The big thing is affordability,” she said during the forum. “There are tax increases digging into the pockets of citizens.”

Putnam identified three priorities of his own: creating an FFA program and greenhouse at St. Cloud Technical High School, expanding the Bar peer mentoring program and protecting veterans from what he described as “claim sharks.”

“We rent our lives,” said Putnam discussing affordability during the forum. “We don’t have opportunities to build wealth.”

Putnam has held the Senate seat since January 2021. During his first term, he worked to support affordable housing, public safety and education. His platform also addresses government accountability, environmental policy, reproductive rights and protections against trafficking and sexual assault.

“I’ve been a professor at CSB+SJU for 23 years where I teach about the skills required to practice democracy,” Putnam said. “As a legislator, I have worked to make college more affordable and students more supported, authoring and passing the Hunger Free Campus Act, co-authoring the North Star Promise Act, and making sure that the state grant program works. When I am re-elected, I will continue to advocate for students and to bring resources and opportunity to our community.”

Perryman frames her campaign around economic relief and bipartisan cooperation saying she wants to “stand up for our district in St. Paul” and “collaborate across party lines to deliver solutions,” according to her website.

Her platform includes support for small businesses, tax cuts, public safety and giving parents a larger role in decisions about school curriculum. She also highlights her community involvement with organizations including the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce, the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation and Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity.

Perryman did not respond to interview requests.

St. Joseph is split between Senate Districts 14 and 13. Putnam and Perryman are running in District 14, while Democratic-Farmer- Labor candidate Trent Dilks and Republican candidate Jared Gapinski are running in District 13.

For students at CSB+SJU, the midterm election also brings several opportunities to vote on campus. The Eugene J. McCarthy Center provides voting and election information, including resources for students living on campus and in St. Joseph.

Ceci McNair, a CSB senior majoring in political science and civic engagement coordinator for the CSB+SJU Votes Coalition, said the nonpartisan coalition works with student organizations, academic departments and the McCarthy Center to provide voting information and help students register.

“We work with the McCarthy Center to put on programming to educate people on how they can vote and to get people registered to vote,” McNair said. “Then to help people get to their polling places on Election Day.”

McNair said she became involved with the coalition after working with the College Democrats during the 2024 election. She said that experience showed her that some students were unaware they could register and vote using their campus address.

The coalition plans to hold early voting on the CSB and SJU campuses Oct. 7 and 8 for students registered to vote at their campus addresses. The group also plans to continue voter registration tables and informational events throughout the fall.

McNair said one of the coalition’s goals is helping students understand that they can register using their campus address. Students can also choose to vote using another address they consider at home. Minnesota’s Secretary of State says college students can register using either their school address or another address they consider their residence.

“I realized not a lot of people understand how easy it is to register to vote on campus and then actually go vote on campus,” McNair said.

For students attending college away from their hometown, deciding where to vote can depend on many factors. Students can check their registration status and voting address through the Minnesota Secretary of State’s voter registration website. Students who need to register or update their address can do so online, by paper application or when they vote.

For more information about voting and elections, students can visit the Eugene J. McCarthy Center’s voting and election information page or contact the McCarthy Center in Simons Hall 136 at (320) 363-3266 or mccarthycenter@csbsju.edu.

Students interested in Senate District 14 or 13 can also find more information about each candidate’s platform on their campaign websites. Minnesota voter registration information is available through the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.