Quentin Wittrock, a retired Coon Rapids attorney, speaks at his campaign kickoff event after announcing his run as a centrist Republican for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District seat on Saturday, Jan. 13. (Angelina Katsanis, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A retired attorney from Coon Rapids who wants to be a voice for independent-minded voters is running as a Republican for Minnesota's Third Congressional District seat.

Quentin Wittrock, 64, said he is fed up with the country's polarized political system and doesn't mince words when he talks about the two parties' leading candidates. He said he voted against Donald Trump twice, calling the former president morally corrupt, and believes that President Joe Biden is too old and mistake-prone.

"I feel that there is a great political middle that is not represented if the parties select candidates who are extremists or if they are incompetent or if they are crazy," Wittrock said. "I'm running as a person who wants to mobilize and lead the great political middle."

Minnesota's Third Congressional District seat, representing suburbs west of the Twin Cities, is now held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who is running for president. Phillips announced in November he won't seek re-election to his U.S. House seat.

Two Democrats, state Sen. Kelly Morrison and Democratic National Committee member Ron Harris, already have announced campaigns for Phillips' congressional seat, as has another Republican, Blaize Harty.

Before Phillips won the seat in 2018, the Third District had been represented by Republicans for more than 50 years. The district has changed considerably in the past several years, with Phillips easily winning re-election twice and its voters backing Biden over Trump by an overwhelming margin in the last presidential election.

Quentin Wittrock speaks at his campaign kickoff event at his Coon Rapids house after announcing his run for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District seat on Saturday, Jan. 13. (Angelina Katsanis, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Wittrock said he believes a GOP candidate with "traditional Republican values, morals and policies" still can win in the Third District.

"I think the party that nominates the most responsible, respected and rational candidate will win the Third District," he said.

Wittrock, who's never held public office, was a practicing business attorney for 32 years before he retired at 59. He said he's lived in Coon Rapids for more than three decades, has been married for almost 40 years and has two daughters and a grandson.

After the 2020 election, Wittrock started the nonprofit website Principle Based Politics, which he's used to advocate for "reasonable, rational policies rather than polarized, divisive politics."

The Republican said he would prioritize fiscal responsibility and Social Security reform in Congress. Wittrock said he also would urge Republicans and Democrats to reach compromises on contentious issues such as abortion and gun control.

If elected, Wittrock's opinion of Trump would put him at odds with other Republicans in Minnesota's congressional delegation. GOP Reps. Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad all recently endorsed Trump.

"Minnesotans and all Americans deserve better. It is time for Republicans to come together in support of a leader who has what it takes to get our country back on track. We stand together to endorse Donald J. Trump for president," the Republican members of Congress wrote in a joint statement earlier this month.

Asked how he would navigate a second Trump presidency, Wittrock said he would vote based on his conscience and principles.

"I wouldn't agree with the bill just because a Republican president was promoting that bill. And I wouldn't disagree with the bill just because a Democratic president was promoting that bill," Wittrock said. "I would make a decision based on what's in the best interest of the country."