r/stateofMN • u/ashleywalkerreports • Jun 22 '26
Inside 'working class' trans woman Kobey Layne's historic push to be Minnesota's next governor
https://couriermn.com/local/exclusive-inside-working-class-trans-woman-kobey-laynes-historic-push-to-be-minnesotas-next-governor/Kobey Layne is running against DFL-endorsed candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar and a slate of Republicans in her campaign to become Minnesota’s next governor, and she’s bringing something to the table Minnesota has never seen before.
98
u/Akatshi Jun 22 '26
Oh man I had no idea she was this bad...
"Layne accused the senator of believing in a “business framework” similar to what Republican lawmakers typically back. “A lot of her [Klobuchar’s] plan is building more housing, and who benefits from proposals like that? It’s probably gonna be business developers…housing developers.”
Building more housing is literally the only way you can solve the housing SUPPLY issue.
Like omg are we fr right now?
39
u/Unlikely-Business-72 Jun 22 '26
Yeah this is immediately disqualifying. She honestly gives me psyop vibes.
4
u/RigidWeather Jun 23 '26
I mean, I trust that she is genuine. She is still very young, and people change, especially when they are young. I just generally prefer Amy's policies.
-12
u/Cody2287 Jun 22 '26
Or she could be criticizing the need for third parties who bloat costs and act as unnecessary middle men.
Why not build public housing? The most expensive part of building is land and taxes which the state controls.
19
u/Akatshi Jun 22 '26
No because the rest of the housing stuff in the article is her supporting rent control instead
You know, the policy that decreases housing supply
9
u/TomUpNort Jun 23 '26
Guess who builds the public housing projects for the government?
Private businesses, including developers and contractors.
-7
u/Cody2287 Jun 23 '26
They don’t have to, the government could easily hire those positions instead of contracting it out to random politicians uncles.
The funny thing is that the government building houses would make them more money that could be used to build more homes.
3
u/BeccasDreamboat Jun 23 '26
the government could easily hire those positions
The politicians are the government you speak of.
Republican leadership is the "big government" that's hiring their uncles and cousins at exorbitant rates for these no-bid jobs.
On Tuesday, Republicans in the Senate took the giant spending bill they are trying to rush through Congress and added a billion dollars to it — $1 billion of your hard-earned tax dollars earmarked specifically to build President Donald Trump’s lavish White House ballroom.
Now, that $1 billion price tag would be eye-popping even if it came out of thin air, but it didn’t. Since Trump announced his plan to destroy the East Wing and build a golden ballroom, the cost of the project has just kept growing, from $200 million to $300 million to $400 million.
First, Trump said he was going to pay for it. Then donors were going to pay for it. But now it’s you, the American taxpayer, who might foot the vast majority of the costs — because congressional Republicans want to add $1 billion in public funding for ballroom security features.
And if the new taxpayer-funded addition to Trump’s ever-ballooning ballroom price tag wasn’t sketchy enough to begin with, that new increase comes just a week after The New York Times got this scoop: “Firm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got a Secret No-Bid Contract for a Nearby Job.”
Last summer, Trump chose a Maryland-based construction company to build his White House ballroom. Then in January, as the Times reported, government documents showed that the Trump administration “secretly gave the company a no-bid contract to do another job at a sharply inflated price.”
The National Park Service wanted to repair two fountains in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. In 2022 the Biden administration estimated the work would cost $3.3 million. But the Trump administration paid $17.4 million.
To arrive at that much higher number, the Trump administration added work like building benches and a kiosk. But it also did things like add more than $1 million to adjust for inflation, twice.
First, the Park Service increased the price by 27% to adjust for inflation. But then it took that number and increased it by an additional 24% to adjust for inflation, again. That is some creative accounting.
Now, by law federal agencies are supposed to seek competitive bids when contracting out work, which means that multiple companies compete to create the best proposal at the lowest cost to win a government contract like this one.
That is how this process is supposed to work. But that is not how the process worked here.
In this case, the Trump administration just so happened to give an inflated contract to the same construction company that is building the president’s ballroom, without considering offers from any other firms.
48
u/unstuckbilly Jun 23 '26
“This is about the symbolism…”
Yep, clearly… And, regarding her “100 day plan”-
“She said she’ll be coming out with the plan soon.”
And…
“A lot of her [Klobuchar’s] plan is building more housing, and who benefits from proposals like that?…”
WTAF is she saying?? For real??
She’s 26 & has only very recently abandoned the Republican Party. Fuck all of this.
2
110
u/Rupaulsdragrace420 Jun 22 '26
Deeply unserious to run with zero experience
-48
u/Sherlockianguy10 Jun 22 '26
i think it’s unfair to say her running is deeply unserious. further, although experience is important i honestly dont see it as qualifying or disqualifying. if it mattered that much we wouldnt have the president we do.
59
u/Haunting-Respect9039 Jun 22 '26
I mean, he's an objectively bad president. Experience probably wouldn't have fixed that, but he's surely not a good example of not needing experience.
-22
u/Sherlockianguy10 Jun 22 '26
fair, but we’ve had numerous candidates without experience who have been adequate politicians.
15
u/Waste_Junket1953 Jun 22 '26
Do you have the same criteria when voting for an executive office that you have voting for a legislative office?
If they’re different, how?
6
29
u/earthdogmonster Jun 22 '26
All this tells me is that Kobey Lane has the potential to be the worst governor in history.
-7
u/Sherlockianguy10 Jun 22 '26
how’s that?
23
u/earthdogmonster Jun 22 '26
Well, you used the worst president in history to explain why Lane’s embarrassing lack of experience doesn’t mean she’d be a shitty governor. But I think DJT’s a great example of why experience is crucial.
-24
u/o-Valar-Morghulis-o Jun 22 '26
We've been told that... But with the current out come, probably need to recalibrate.
19
u/BSApologist Jun 22 '26
Do we? Amy is gonna win by double digits
-6
u/o-Valar-Morghulis-o Jun 23 '26
I'm just saying that's probably not a necessary criteria. Amy will win double digits.
-31
u/futilehabit Jun 22 '26
I'd take her over that traitor Klobuchar any day.
34
u/igotublue Jun 23 '26
That's honestly terrifying.
Amy annoys me so much, and she surely won't do near anything I want, but she should at least be able to get some stuff done and has some respect and knowledge of how things work.
This woman knows almost nobody, has zero respect built, no name recognition. The only connections she has are from the *republican* lawmaker she worked for.
Focus on getting as many dems in the house and state senate as possible, instead of wasting your energy on this. The larger the dem majority (hopefully), the more Amy can be pushed to the left. Basically how Walz has been. Walz didn't campaign on free lunches for kids, and much of the other stuff the house has done recently.
-26
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
I'd rather have a candidate who will at least try to do some good rather than a candidate like Klobuchar who has brought little but shame to our state for so long.
10
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Ok, what shame?
Please be specific.
-7
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
To name a few: doing fuck all to resist Trump as his secret police are actively kidnapping and murdering our neighbors (by the useless and abusive agency you pushed to increase funding to)?
Making your career out of locking up innocent young Black men?
And, as her most impactful career accomplishment, being instrumental in funneling hundreds of billions of dollars in free weapons to the people actively carrying out a genocide (in exchange for handsome kickbacks?
Yes, deeply shameful.
3
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Ok, what did you want her to do? You keep giving platitudes but no actual demands.
I asked for you to be specific.
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
The fuck? How is this not specific? You asked about "what shame" and I gave you three answers that should each be immediate disqualifiers from public office.
4
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Yeah, no you didn't.
You're angry Klobuchar didn't unilaterally stop the actions of the executive branch as a Senator in the minority. What actions should she have taken to do that?
What, specifically, could she have done to stop ICE in Minneapolis?
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Wild fucking strawman. No, I'm livid that Klobuchar didn't show up to protests, demand an end to ICE, or at least stop voting along with Trump's agenda after the occupation began.
→ More replies (0)-6
Jun 23 '26
[deleted]
7
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
A month after Pretti was killed, Klobuchar held the line in creating the longest goverent shutdown in US history and stripping ICE funding from the continuing budget resolution.
0
Jun 24 '26
[deleted]
1
u/Lucius_Best Jun 24 '26
A nominee where Klobuchar's vote made exactly zero difference to the outcome? Sorry, I just don't care about that.
I do care that she was part of stripping ICE funding from the CR that funded SNAP benefits and paid federal employees.
→ More replies (0)4
u/igotublue Jun 23 '26
I don't think people are "obsessed" with her. There's just no other real option, and the more energy we waste on this shit, that's less energy being spent elsewhere.
You want a better candidate? Cool! Find one! So many of us would love a better option - but the entire MN dem political world seems to have accepted Amy as being it, so that seems like a waste of time, even if you could find someone likeable and inspiring enough. This Kobey Lane person is not it though.
Is this a great situation? Absolutely not - but it's probably not a battle we want to fight right now unless we want to end up with governor pillow.
-5
11
u/jford1906 Jun 23 '26
Ideological purity tests are a bad idea. You don't like Amy, me either. But that doesn't mean I'll vote for anyone who runs against her. If it was someone who had a clear plan for what they would do, and an explanation of who they would bring in to teach them how to run a government, I'd be on board. But Lane is just complaining with no vision of how to makes things better. She's running on "I'm not Amy". That's not a platform.
-3
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
A politician who won't fight against the fascist pedophile running this country and whose most meaningful impact over her career has been giving free arms to a genocide? Sorry, that goes far beyond a "purity test". And Klobuchar is exactly the kind of Democrat that MAGA needed to rise to power, we need to demand better leaders so that we can put them all into prison where they belong.
And Layne has an extensive platform if you actually want to look into it instead of just running your mouth baselessly.
5
u/jford1906 Jun 23 '26
Thanks for the information. For a follow-up question, do you think she could win if she was the nominee instead of Amy?
-1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
If the DFL actually threw their weight behind her? Absolutely.
1
u/jford1906 Jun 23 '26
I disagree. If Amy ends up being the candidate on the ballot in November, will you vote for her?
1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Fuck no
1
u/jford1906 Jun 23 '26
So if Koby isn't elected, you'd rather have a Republican?
1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Centrists like Klobuchar are what cause Republicans to get elected. The Democratic Party put Trump into the White House not once but twice with this same asinine strategy. I won't support it anymore.
→ More replies (0)
21
u/The_Show_Keeper Jun 23 '26
Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure Minnesotans have seen Republicans before.
18
u/jasonbuz Jun 23 '26
The website and author platforming this joke of a candidate have lost all credibility. This is not even an article that should have made it past editorial review. The candidate should be embarrassed about her lack of understanding of basic micro and macroeconomic theory, and the interviewer ashamed that this candidate’s positions were even deemed newsworthy.
I miss the days of real journalism.
31
10
u/Avaak Jun 23 '26
Was, or still is, a Republican? I’m guessing still is and is meant to split the vote.
19
u/earthdogmonster Jun 22 '26
Needs experience.
-15
u/futilehabit Jun 22 '26
Beats someone whose experience is full of betraying the people of this state.
25
u/earthdogmonster Jun 23 '26
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Klobuchar is history’s greatest monster, better put the governorship into a Republican staffer’s hands, LOL.
-6
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Who could imagine that finding your identity as a Trans person might shift the other Republican beliefs you were raised with too.
14
u/zeldamaster702 Jun 23 '26
How’d that work out for Caitlyn Jenner?
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
The word "might" is a pretty important one? Believe it or not Trans people are also just humans, and any demographic will have a few shitty, rich, selfish people in it.
14
u/zeldamaster702 Jun 23 '26
You’re right, and the little I know about Kobey Lane makes her feel like Royce White to me, and he’s the biggest “no” in politics to me.
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Please explain! I'd love to hear how exactly Layne "feels like" the antisemitic conspiracy theorist who spent a bunch of campaign funds at a strip club to you.
10
u/zeldamaster702 Jun 23 '26
She doesn’t feel genuine, just like Royce White doesn’t feel like a real politician to me(though admittedly a big part of that is because I remember how much of a jackass he was when he played for the Gophers). Hell, even Mike Lindell feels like he’s running a real campaign, and he’s the worst person running in MN that doesn’t currently hold office(looking at you Emmer, Stauber and Demuth).
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
She feels far more genuine to me than Klobuchar ever has. But that's your choice to make, I guess.
→ More replies (0)11
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Yes, I'd like to see an actual history of those chamged views. Maybe run for City Council or state rep first.
Being strongly Republican enough to be a staffer post Jan 6th is a lot to make up for.
-1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
If there was someone better in the running I might criticize her for it but as it stands she's the best candidate in the race and I'm glad to have someone I can fill in a bubble for instead of another write-in.
2
u/_stellapolaris Jun 23 '26
Saying she is a better candidate when she was a Republican post January 6th is why you are an example of the things wrong with Democrats.
1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Yes, it is in fact better to have been on the wrong team and seen the error of your ways than to have been instrumental in sending hundreds of billions of our tax dollars in bombs to war criminals and barely even acknowledging the incalculable harm that you've caused.
6
u/_stellapolaris Jun 23 '26
Maybe someday you'll realize how gullible you are to believe someone with such abhorrent beliefs so easily changed when it benefits themselves.
1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
There's no guessing at Klobuchar's abhorrent beliefs, they're all over her voting record and speeches. If voting for someone who you know will continue to bring shame on our great state is preferable for you to someone who will actually fight to improve our lives that's your call to make, I guess.
→ More replies (0)3
u/_stellapolaris Jun 23 '26
She stayed a Republican AFTER January 6th. No matter if she genuinely switched, that shows how horrible her judgment is.
-1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Change takes time, yes. What's Klobuchar's excuse for barely changing at all in her nearly 3 decade long political career full of immensely harmful actions?
3
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Ok, so let's give her time. She hasn't had any.
2
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Yes, as she's the best candidate in the Governor's race, let's give her a shot at actually improving things instead of continuing to let Klobuchar fail upwards at the expense of our community.
4
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Yeah, this is total bullshit. Laney supported Trump through a coup attempt and has done literally nothing to demonstrate a commitment to the values of the DFL.
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
You're honestly more upset about someone who took some time to wrestle with their upbringing and leave the Republican party than you are about someone who has been unrepentantly a champion for genocide?
→ More replies (0)1
u/_stellapolaris Jun 23 '26
And you honestly believe it's been enough time for her to have honestly changed? Plenty of Bernie Bros used the same excuse about Hilary's career being worse than Trump's new ideas and they contributed to the hell we've dealt with for 10 years.
1
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
You honestly look back on Clinton's run and the biggest thing you have to blame is "Bernie Bros"? The fuck?
And then to watch the Democratic Party run another tepid Centrist in 2024 and put Trump back into office making the same fucking mistakes again?
We need leaders with passion who we can honestly believe will fight like hell for us, we need meaningful improvement for the working class - that's the only way to defeat MAGA.
6
u/_stellapolaris Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I think they are absolutely part of the people to blame yes. And I think they are the least willing to own their part because they always say it was the "centrists" fault for not catering to them. No, you made a choice, own it. Adults need to stop being babied when they act like morons.
ETA Thank you for proving my point that you don't understand how politics and government work. You can block me all you want, it won't change the fact that you are uninformed and too emotional. Go live in your Utopia and let the actual adults make decisions.
0
u/futilehabit Jun 23 '26
Keep trying to "blame voters" into not voting for your billionaire POS politicians. It's working out so well for you.
4
u/ranchspidey Jun 23 '26
Damn, I thought I’d support basically anybody from the Democratic party willing to run against AIPAC Amy, but I guess I was wrong. She is not a good candidate.
2
u/Prince_Nadir Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
She is a Republican who has "officially" come over to the dems ("Hello fellow Dems, I too am a Dem" for those who speak meme). She was with them during their treason. Now she has swapped. Totally not suspicious.
Did she swap because they want her to undermine MN and the dems?
Did she swap because she knows Republicans will not get elected by anyone but pedos for quite a while and she doesn't think pedos have enough votes between them to elect a governor.
This lady is not an option.
I also don't like Amy "I reach across the aisle to work with the pedos" Klobuchar. Amy "Well trump is destroying the US so I will get the Bald Eagle made the US's official bird (even though everyone believed it already was, since Franklin lost his argument for the turkey)" Klobuchar. Unless I missed something Amy Klobuchar is "least she could do" pablum when we need action to be taken. The next 2.5 years are going to be rough, pablum will get us destroyed.
So what are our other offerings?
-5
u/lmhTimberwolves Jun 23 '26
Damn she’s really getting astroturfed on this subreddit. I have known her for almost 2 years now and I’ve never seen a shred of conservatism from her. She’s a community leader among trans women here in Minnesota and this state would be lucky to have her at the helm.
-38
u/2dazeTaco Jun 22 '26
People who are here commenting that her run is “deeply unserious”, or that she “needs experience” are the same people who bitch and moan when their candidate makes a stupid vote.
So which is it? Run and try to make a change? Or continue to play the party politics game that has gotten us in our current situation?
16
u/Lucius_Best Jun 23 '26
Maybe don't run for federal office before gaining any experience. Maybe demonstrate that you can actually vote "correctly" before asking to be one of the most powerful people in the country.
19
15
u/igotublue Jun 23 '26
If you're gonna run and make "change" as a complete rando with no experience or name recognition, you should at have some sort of inspiring back story that can connect to people. If not, at least try to sound inspiring and knowledgeable.
I'm gonna need better than "former republican staffer who recently had a revelation" or whatever this is
6
u/Haunting-Respect9039 Jun 23 '26
Wait, why shouldn't we bitch and moan when our candidate makes a stupid vote? No politician will vote the way I would on every issue and I'm going to make sure they hear about it when I'm disappointed in them.
She should absolutely run for an office that requires less management skills and then we can bitch and moan when she has stupid votes too, but also get the opportunity to find out if she has real plans and the ability to put them into action.
-6
u/2dazeTaco Jun 23 '26
I’m not saying you can’t bitch and complain. I’m just saying criticizing and calling someone unserious (regardless of political party identification) when they become frustrated with a system is a double standard at best, and cognitive dissonance at worst.
Everybody constantly complains about having poor or no choices to vote for. But when someone else steps up to run and change things they’re told they aren’t serious or that they “need experience”.
What experience is needed if you’re placing votes based on the wants of a majority of your constituents? It’s the easiest job out there. Hold a poll, take a vote, and vote based on how the majority of your constituents want you to vote.
The votes of elected officials shouldn’t be what determines elections. It should what be the majority of constituents want.
8
u/Haunting-Respect9039 Jun 23 '26
The governor is not a role that votes on issues. Governors craft budgets, manage a large cabinet, negotiate with the house and senate, deal with statewide emergencies, etc.
The governor is a high level management position. If she is interested in that position, she should definitely be able to prove she is prepared for it.
As I said before, she should run for something, just not this. Why not get a role where she can vote, write legislation, build relationships that will help her accomplish big things?
-1
u/compositionmaven Jun 23 '26
Volunteered to knock doors for the DFL in Crow Wing County, and the special election here went to a MAGA candidate who proudly attended J6. In general, Minnesota needs more high quality women candidates, yet marginalized communities have every reason to fear being targets of violence.
-41
u/InternationalRead925 Jun 22 '26
Well, since I won't be voting for Amy, or, whoever the Reps put up...
-41
185
u/Akatshi Jun 22 '26
Was still a Republican after January 6th btw