Press Release

Today, Tuesday, March 8, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement ahead of the expected announcement that Scott Jensen is doubling down on far-right extremism by selecting an anti-vaxxer who wants to outlaw abortion and ban same-sex marriage as his running mate.

“Scott Jensen has selected a running mate who is as committed to the far-right fringe as he is,” said Ken Martin. “Matt Birk has campaigned to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota, supports outlawing abortion, and is a vehement anti-vaxxer. The Jensen-Birk ticket’s far-right extremism is out of touch with Minnesota’s values, and the contrast with Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan couldn’t be clearer.”

Like his running mate, Birk claims to be unvaccinated. Both Birk and Jensen have promoted false anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

In 2012, Birk wrote an op-ed calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan served as the Outreach Director for Minnesotans United for All Families that worked to defeat that very same anti-equality constitutional amendment. Governor Walz was an early supporter of marriage equality.

Birk has a decades long legacy of anti-choice politics that seeks to limit abortion access. Birk supports defunding Planned Parenthood and has even said that “After the KKK, [Planned Parenthood] is the most racist organization in America.”