Roger J. Skraba
Republican | Minnesota
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
North Dakota State University, Fargo, BS Construction Management, 1980-1985
WORK & MILITARY
US Army Reserves, Sergeant, 1986-1994
Self employed wilderness fishing guide, owner/guide, 1986-2026
AFFILIATIONS
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Usher, 2010-2026
Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club, Trail Administrator, 2009-2023
Prospectors ATV Club, member, 2014-2026
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Ely City Council, 1994-2003
Ely Mayor, 2003-2004
Ely Mayor, 2007-2010
Ely Mayor, 2021-2022
MN State Representative District 3A, 2023-2026
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Ely City Council
Ely Mayor
Minnesota State House of Representatives
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2025
100%
2023-2024
100%
2023-2024
83%
2025
41%, 68%†
2025
|100%
2023-2024
|100%
2023-2024
|83%
2025
|41%, 68%†
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (3)
National Rifle Association NRA-PVF
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Minnesota
Itasca County GOP
OTHER (1)
Minnesota Farm Bureau PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (10)
International Union of Operators Local 49
Minn Farm Bureau PAC
Northern Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Housing First Minnesota PAC
NFIB MN PAC
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
State Republican Party Organizations (2025)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (4)
National Federation of Independent Business (2024)
Pat Garofalo (2024)
Lignite Energy Council (2022)
MN House Leadership PAC (2022)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (9)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (2026)
Building Trades Councils (2025)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (2025)
International Union of Operating Engineers (2025)
Laborers International Union of N. America (national, state & local) (2025)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Disagree
Planned Parenthood and others provide many other services that provide for the well being of their patients lives. I also feel the Minnesota Legislature should return funding to organizations who help new mothers with pregnancies and post birth activities.
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
I believe that is up to the woman who is making that decision. I personally would encourage her to give birth.
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Agree
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Agree
And insurance should help women who need to use in vitro fertilization.
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Neutral
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
I think it’s a place to start workers who want to work and if they show up and do their job the employer will raise their wages accordingly.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
This is why the United States of America exists.
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
Set checks and balances that have legal consequences if caught abusing the system. Allow whistle blowers the right to accuse the violator without payback consequences. Audit accounts that appear to be using more money than usual. Hold the people legally accountable for their actions.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Government should not let religion dictate how government services are provided. We should not support time off for daily prayer, that is up to each individual to find the time. Government should be neutral and not dictate individual faith and religious liberty.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
There’s is no freedom if government tells you what and who you do business with.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
B. The current system does not work. A full blown Medicare for all with no private healthcare options will only fail, smaller countries have tried it and in some instances it works with a very large subsidy or it doesn’t work and they try to find ways to provide the services without bankrupting the country. Insurance companies need to work for the people who need their policies, not the shareholders.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Neutral
Not sure who benefits from that. I am skeptical of master lists.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
Adapt and overcome. Otherwise they will copy us and try to take over our country.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
I don’t know.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
I would support a way to make all illegal immigrants register themselves so they can work their way to citizenship.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
I would still accept the financial support of the Federal government for local school districts.
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Neutral
They should be able to pay for their citizens education, funding education. If they need our education system to solve problems their government can’t do we should be able to help them with our education system.
VALUES
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Agree
If the parents agree to transitioning their child then that’s their prerogative. They would need medical advice to do so.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Agree
I pray for the day when we can define unions between same sex people with definitions of their own. For instance if two men join together legally give it its own term, I will respect that like I respect marriage between a man and a woman. I believe God loves everyone.
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Disagree
Billions of dollars taken out of our economy to support trading money for outcomes that can be manipulated.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a God fearing Christian Catholic. I believe we can be better citizens if we follow our constitution and the bible. Do onto others as you would do onto you.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
It is not hard to get a government issued ID, everybody should have one. I will support block chain voting when it makes it way into our election system.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Disagree
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
Mental health issues have become popular with folks who believe government should be everywhere in our lives.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Strongly Disagree
Climate change is as organic as it comes. It is by far more natural than man made. We should study what long term effects that natural climate change has on our economies and lifestyles.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
As of right now with the technology we have, coal, natural gas and nuclear. I believe there are other forms of source energies but we haven’t discovered them yet….
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Lean Conservative
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
no
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
To arrest people who violate the law, find them either guilty or not guilty and to rehabilitate individuals who violate our code of ethics, standards, laws and citizenship. It should provide the person who violated a path to complete freedom. They must be held accountable for their actions.
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Strongly Agree
Society needs to find what punishment fits the violation of children’s rights, no plea deals.
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Agree
Our country was founded on Christianity. That is our foundation and why we live freely. It must be protected at all costs. Sharia Law is a violation of that foundation.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Ask yourself this question; What restrictions on speech are needed to protect public safety? It’s so easy to blame the gun. It is not the gun. Gun ownership is guaranteed under the Second amendment. We have plenty of gun laws on the books, when enforced they can change peoples use of guns in crimes. I will listen to people who want new gun laws but they must meet the constitutional amendment clause because in my opinion it will change the constitution.
