A startling statistic was recently released. According Rasmussen, 63% of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. It is blatantly apparent that well over half the nation lacks confidence in the current Washington, D.C. leadership.

This lack of confidence is also demonstrated through Congress’ historically low approval rating which sits at 12%. Americans are desperate for new and effective leadership. For years, we have put our faith in politicians who are interested in only expanding their own political power. The current DC leadership fails to focus on the real issues affecting our communities; instead they cozy up to powerful leaders in Washington with hopes of advancing their own careers.

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once famously stated, “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I am interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.” Washington, D.C. has lost complete sight of this idea. Washington’s love affair with power is so corrupt that our government has been gridlocked by partisan politics and personal greed.

I am not a career politician nor am I interested in the political games that take place in Washington. What I am interested in is replacing the old, tired and outdated leadership so that we can pave the way for a better and stronger government that truly works on behalf of the people that elect it. When Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address he hoped that “…a government by the people, for the people shall not perish from this earth.” Well friends, President Lincoln’s hope is about to be extinguished. We must elect leaders that act on behalf of PEOPLE not politics. America and the Fifth District of Minnesota need new leadership and I am prepared and motivated to provide it.