Shawn Savela
Republican | Minnesota
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
University of Minnesota, Duluth, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, 1985-1990
University of Minnesota, Duluth, Master of Science, Computer Science, 2019-2021
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Duluth City Council, At Large, 2023-2023
Minnesota House of Representatives, District 8B, 2024-2024
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (2)
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life PAC
Minnesotans for Health & Parental Rights
OTHER (1)
Minnesota Farm Bureau PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (5)
Stand for Health Freedom
Minnesotans for Health and Parental Rights
American Indian Republican Affiliate (AIR-A)
Minnesota Republican Party
Minn Farm Bureau Political Action Committee (MFB PAC)
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Shawn Savela (2024)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (2)
Art Johnston (2024)
Shawn Savela (2024)
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).
Strongly Agree
They should not receive taxpayer funds to perform abortions. If they provide other services they may qualify, but there needs to be a clear distinction of what the funding would be used for.
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
Rape, incest, medical crisis for the mother, or before the synapses are forming, so up to week 5. This would protect the individual rights of the mother, but I would hope the mother would not choose this.
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Neutral
I don't think these are legal to develop into viable fetuses, and I don't think they would be considered human life given they were artificially created.
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Neutral
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
The minimum wage is only good for the government. Pay goes up the chain from lowest to mid-level workers, then prices go up and inflation increases. In the end, the minimum wage just provides more payroll taxes for the government.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
I would like to eliminate property taxes. Paying an annual tax on property you own, and if you don't pay you lose it, means you don't really own it, you're just renting it from the government.
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
1. Make the office of inspector general back to the senate version, where it reports to an independent council and goes against past fraud. 2. Create a Minnesota Department of Government Efficiency to review all programs, starting with the programs that have the most potential for savings 3. Review and remove unfunded state mandates, reduce regulations, and reduce department management layers
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
The government does not mandate people follow a specific religion, or mandate a person follows any religion at all. Government does not make accommodations for unreasonable religious practices, like face coverings in IDs.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
The government does not have the right to force people to provide services against their moral or religious beliefs with the exception of short-term services to save someone's life. People have the right to decide if they will provide services and whom they will provide them for without government interference.
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.
C. We had a hybrid in Minnesota that could cover lower income people and that worked pretty well, but the universal healthcare initiative of the Obama administration replaced it. We need to fix it.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Strongly Disagree
This is a 4th amendment violation.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
I wouldn't call them an enemy, but they are certainly a hostile government to the United States. We should treat them as such.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
It is important in that Isreal is an ally in the middle east. All of our relationships with our allies are important, I'm not sure why this country is being singled out.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
We are a nation of laws and we have borders. Illegal aliens come in unvetted and therefore should be considered potential threats to our national security and health system. We cannot allow people to circumvent our legal system, and we cannot abide anyone that helps people who circumvent our legal system.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
The US DoE has only been around since the Carter administration. This is another unnecessary layer of government that can be eliminated.
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Neutral
I don't know the specifics of what this question is getting at. Should foreign governments be able to fund students to go to US institutions? Sure, if they have capacity and it's not taking away positions from American students. If there is some other level of funding, I would need to know the specifics before making a decision.
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
As stated, parents have a fundamental right and duty to direct their children's health and education.
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Strongly Agree
Children are not mature enough or thoughtful enough to make these decisions, and adults forcing or arranging a transition is child abuse.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
The government can call it whatever they like, and I'm not opposed to other legal arrangements. I believe a true marriage is between one man and one woman only, and it has nothing to do with what the government calls it.
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Disagree
I think there are already a number of ways to gamble in this state and I struggle to see the benefit of more ways to gamble.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian, I believe in God and Christ as our savior. I don't think humans have the mental capacity to truly understand God, but we do the best we can. I know people from multiple religions, and the ones who honor their religion peacefully are typically the kindest people I know.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Not only this, but we need to fix our driver licenses in Minnesota. Currently, illegal aliens are being issued drivers licenses, which is unacceptable, and on top of that they are indistinguishable from citizen driver licenses. Legal non-citizen drive licenses should be easily differentiated from citizen licenses, and illegal aliens should not receive any license or ID.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
I'm assuming this is a question about reparations around slavery. The civil war ended 161 years ago. That's at least six generations. The reparations were already paid by the lives of three quarters of a million people, or roughly 2.5% of the population. We need to move past categorizing citizens by race and end this money grab.
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
My answer is for women's and girl's sports and locker rooms up to and including high school, women's shelters, and prisons. Anywhere there are minors or it's a forced situation this mixing should not be allowed. If sorority houses, college teams, or the WNBA want to allow it, it's a business decision they can make.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Strongly Disagree
The track record is that government programs take money from ordinary people and shift it to a wealthy few. The government is not made up of people who are capable of accomplishing anything meaningful around climate change, and I think that's very apparent.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
I think nuclear is the most reliable energy, but there is a waste problem associated with it.
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?
Conservative
I like to look at every situation individually. For the most part I think most people would consider me to be 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 protect our citizens, to be fair, to punish the guilty, and to always consider someone innocent until proven guilty.
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Strongly Agree
This does not mean digital ID or tracking. It does mean laws that punish people who exploit children, not allowing grooming in games or activities, and aggressive prosecution.
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Strongly Agree
Go back to the question about separation of church and state. Sharia law is incompatible with western culture and moral values.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Very few restrictions are needed. Minors should not be able to purchase a gun. People convicted of a violent felony while under probation. We need constitutional carry in Minnesota.
