Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

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Voter Guide

Minnesota State House District 44B

House - State Representatives serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the state legislature. They write and vote on legislation to create, repeal, or change state laws affecting many issues, like health care, the environment, and the economy. They also vote on state taxes and state spending.Watch a candidate forum for this race recorded on September 17, 2026.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    TJ Hawthorne
    (IND)

  • Candidate picture

    Leon M. Lillie
    (DFL)

Biographical Information

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (750 characters)

What will you do to support a vibrant economy across Minnesota and to address inflation? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to address racial or ethnic disparities in Minnesota? (500 characters)

Do you support the adoption of a ballot issue to add the Equal Rights Amendment into the Minnesota State Constitution why or why not? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to protect clean air and water in Minnesota? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to meet the need for safe communities? (500 characters)

What changes to legislation would you support to reduce the influence of big money in elections? (500 characters)

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Campaign Website http://www.tjformn44b.com
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/tjforliberty
Campaign Twitter Handle @@TJ_Hawthorne44B
Campaign Email tj@tjhawthorne.com
The first priority would be to find out what I will be able to accomplish. With the current partisan environment we have established in our Legislature, the 'rules' are made with R/D in mind and having an Independent in the House, things could go a few different ways. I'm hoping to represent the 'regular Minnesotan' and bring the middle ground to the House. I have been lobbying for Defend The Guard legislation for more than four years at the Capitol. During the 2024 session, we had more than a dozen House Reps and Senators signed on to sponsor the bill and I would like to get that passed. Food & Market Freedom is another priority of mine. When bureaucrats decide who can sell what, and to whom, we lose a lot more than just food choices.
Free the market! We have 33 core state agencies and more than 100 boards, commissions, and colleges that are prioritizing their own matters, rather than what is important for most Minnesotans. The inflation is solely due to the mismanagement of our currency. When the federal government spend more than they take in, they use the Federal Reserve to print the money into existence. This dilutes the value of our dollar.
Identity politics is not my thing. The more we hate "the other", the more the bureaucrats can get away with in the background. We are ALL Americans, we are ALL Minnesotans.
No. I have learned that when you create a 'law' that tells you how to behave, you create a line where people can hover and not be 'prosecuted'. We don't need a Constitution to tell the people how to behave. The Constitution is there to tell the government how to behave.
Every single opportunity for business presents its own problems. Legislation would only put a line in the sand that lobbyist and cronies can manipulate. There is nothing lawmakers can do that will protect the environment. The people in the communities must protect the land THEY live on. How does a lawmaker from North St Paul, decide what should be built in Bemidji? Read data presented to them by parties involved? I don't think that's representation.
I would repeal any and all unconstitutional gun laws. I would like to look into why violent criminals are not prosecuted.
We have to stop giving the money and falling for the politics of fear. Fear of "the other guy" winning an election has created this two party ridiculousness. Stop giving your money to people/PACs that don't have YOUR best interests.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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