Jon Tollefson announces run for Congress in Third District

Jon Tollefson, a lobbyist with the Minnesota Nurses Association, announced today that he will run for Congress against Congressman Erik Paulsen in Minnesota's Third Congressional District.

In a press release announcing his campaign, Tollefson said "I'm running to bring the true values of Minnesotans to Washington: real fiscal responsibility, investments in education and transportation that lead to jobs and economic growth, and affordable access to health care for all."

Tollefson lived in Hopkins and Minnetonka growing up and attended public schools in Hopkins, later attending George Washington University. Tollefson previously worked as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department for five years.

Tollefson ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2014, but was defeated in the DFL primary election.

Paulsen has not formally announced his intention to seek re-election, but his campaign announced yesterday Paulsen raised $406,702 in the last fundraising quarter of 2015 and has amassed a campaign warchest of over $2 million.

In 2014, Paulsen was re-elected to Congress with over 60 percent of the vote in Minnesota's Third District.

Picture source: Tollefson for Congress