On a scorching-hot Sunday at the Minnesota State Fair, three Republican candidates for governor pledged that, if elected, they would work to scrap the state's health insurance exchange that is scheduled to open in October.
Predicting rising costs and burdensome government regulations, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, state Sen. Dave Thompson and state Rep. Kurt Zellers said during a candidate forum that they would try to close the new online marketplace for health insurance that's a key component of the federal law known as Obamacare that is intended to overhaul the nation's health system.
"I would do anything I could to end them," Thompson said during the discussion moderated by political science professor Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.
"I don't believe it can be fixed," Johnson said of the insurance exchange.
"It isn't going to work," Zellers said.
The three contenders appeared in 90-plus degree heat on a stage outside the University of Minnesota building.
"If you truly want to make the candidates sweat, this is the definition of it, right?" Zellers asked Jacobs.
The Minnesota Senate is not up for election next year, so even if a Republican is elected governor, it is unlikely the Senate Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority would agree to dismantle the health insurance exchange.
Nonetheless, Johnson said, "I thinks it's incumbent on a governor to at least try to minimize the damage and do what you can so it's less harmful and less expensive for consumers."
Thompson said he would scale back the exchange so it wouldn't impose any regulatory burdens beyond those required by federal law.
He also said he would work with other Republican governors to push Washington to repeal the federal law.
Zellers said he fears some Minnesota insurance providers will be shut out of the state exchange because their products don't comply with all the federal requirements.
"I prefer an open market," he said. "If you can buy your car insurance from a lizard at 2 a.m., you should be able to go out and shop for your health insurance across all markets."
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton championed the health insurance exchange law; not a single Republican legislator voted for it.
The three candidates agreed on most other issues, as well.
They called for reducing taxes and government regulations on businesses to make Minnesota more economically competitive.
Although all three opposed the new state law that legalized same-sex marriage, they said they would not try to repeal it.
"The fact of the matter is the people of this state made a decision," Thompson said, referring to the vote last fall rejecting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and the election of DFL legislative majorities that voted to legalize it. Instead, he said, he wants to talk about the economy, taxes and education.
The Senate DFL majority would not vote to repeal same-sex marriage, Zellers said, so there's no reason to propose it.
"It's been decided; it's the law of the land," he said. "Let's get back to what makes Minnesota competitive."
Johnson said ending same-sex marriage "is not going to be a priority, but I'd never run away from who I am. ... I am pro-life. I support traditional marriage. I'm not ashamed of that."
A fourth Republican gubernatorial candidate, Orono businessman Scott Honour, turned down an invitation to participate, and the latest entrant to the GOP race, Hibbing teacher Rob Farnsworth, got in too late last week to be invited.
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