Trina Swanson

[{"question": "Ballotpedia survey responses", "answer_html": "<p>See also: <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a></p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-xs-10 col-md-6 col-xs-offset-1 col-md-offset-3\"><p><a href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\"><img align=\"middle\" alt=\"Candidate Connection\" src=\"https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/8/88/Candidate_Connection_Logo.png\" width=\"90%\"/></a></p></div></div>\n<p>Trina Swanson completed <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a> survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Swanson's responses.</p>\n<p><span class=\"expand-all\">Expand all</span> | <span class=\"collapse-all\">Collapse all</span></p>\n<div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" id=\"heading-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWho are you? Tell us about yourself.\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-bio-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI grew up in Duluth and Hermantown, graduating from Hermantown High School. I spent 25 years serving our country in the federal government. I started my federal career at just 18 years old at the Bankruptcy Court, where I worked throughout college and law school. After law school, I started working for U.S. Citizenship &amp; Immigration Services. While running immigration operations in three countries, I followed the law and kept our country safe. I walked away from that career rather than compromise my oath. I came home, and now I'm running for Congress because I want to protect the future of northern and central Minnesota, and the people who call it home. I will be the representative who does the actual job for our communities back home.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" id=\"heading-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tPlease list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>1. Affordability\r\n<p>Working families in northern and central Minnesota are doing everything right, but costs keep rising faster than wages. Health care, housing, groceries, childcare, and energy are stretching budgets thin.\r\n</p>\nAffordability is my top priority. I will focus on lowering prescription drug prices, expanding rural health care access, protecting Medicare and Social Security, strengthening domestic supply chains, and supporting good-paying jobs in mining, manufacturing, and the skilled trades. Economic policy should make it easier to build a life here, not harder.</li><li>2. Stability\r\nPublic service should mean responsibility. The government must be transparent, accountable, and held to a higher standard than the people it serves. Enough with the chaos, refusal to compromise, and weaponization of the government against its people. \r\n\r\nI support strong oversight, ethical leadership, and consistent enforcement of the law. Congresspeople should not be allowed to hold or trade stock when in office. No one should be above the law, regardless of position or influence. Restoring trust starts with leaders who are willing to answer for their decisions and act in the public interest.</li><li>3. Community\r\nNorthern and central Minnesota deserves leadership that shows up and delivers results.\r\n\r\nThat means being present in every county, holding regular, in-person town halls, and working across party lines where possible. It means investing in infrastructure, supporting responsible extraction of critical minerals while protecting the environment, protecting the BWCA, respecting civil rights and human rights, ensuring responsible immigration reform that protects our borders while upholding our values, and standing up for working families.\r\n\r\nI’m running to provide leadership that listens, acts, and follows through.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-398895-2026-04-10\" id=\"heading1-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-398895-2026-04-10\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-398895-2026-04-10\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-398895-2026-04-10\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tHealthcare and the economy. And where I come from, that’s the same conversation. I believe honest work should still buy you a life with dignity. Yet, I've seen what happens when the systems we count on fail someone you love. I haven’t forgotten what it feels like to sit at the kitchen table and wonder if the math is going to work this month. And that’s what I see as public policy.<br/><br/><br/>\r\nWhen a community loses its clinic, that's an economic crisis. When there's no childcare, that's a workforce crisis. When there's no housing or broadband, young people leave — and that's a crisis for our future. It is time for a Representative that fights to bring Opportunity at Home.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.</i></p></div>", "answer_text": "See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection\n\nTrina Swanson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Swanson's responses.\nExpand all | Collapse all\nWho are you? Tell us about yourself. I grew up in Duluth and Hermantown, graduating from Hermantown High School. I spent 25 years serving our country in the federal government. I started my federal career at just 18 years old at the Bankruptcy Court, where I worked throughout college and law school. After law school, I started working for U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. While running immigration operations in three countries, I followed the law and kept our country safe. I walked away from that career rather than compromise my oath. I came home, and now I'm running for Congress because I want to protect the future of northern and central Minnesota, and the people who call it home. I will be the representative who does the actual job for our communities back home. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? 1. Affordability Working families in northern and central Minnesota are doing everything right, but costs keep rising faster than wages. Health care, housing, groceries, childcare, and energy are stretching budgets thin. Affordability is my top priority. I will focus on lowering prescription drug prices, expanding rural health care access, protecting Medicare and Social Security, strengthening domestic supply chains, and supporting good-paying jobs in mining, manufacturing, and the skilled trades. Economic policy should make it easier to build a life here, not harder. 2. Stability\r\nPublic service should mean responsibility. The government must be transparent, accountable, and held to a higher standard than the people it serves. Enough with the chaos, refusal to compromise, and weaponization of the government against its people. \r\n\r\nI support strong oversight, ethical leadership, and consistent enforcement of the law. Congresspeople should not be allowed to hold or trade stock when in office. No one should be above the law, regardless of position or influence. Restoring trust starts with leaders who are willing to answer for their decisions and act in the public interest. 3. Community\r\nNorthern and central Minnesota deserves leadership that shows up and delivers results.\r\n\r\nThat means being present in every county, holding regular, in-person town halls, and working across party lines where possible. It means investing in infrastructure, supporting responsible extraction of critical minerals while protecting the environment, protecting the BWCA, respecting civil rights and human rights, ensuring responsible immigration reform that protects our borders while upholding our values, and standing up for working families.\r\n\r\nI’m running to provide leadership that listens, acts, and follows through. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Healthcare and the economy. And where I come from, that’s the same conversation. I believe honest work should still buy you a life with dignity. Yet, I've seen what happens when the systems we count on fail someone you love. I haven’t forgotten what it feels like to sit at the kitchen table and wonder if the math is going to work this month. And that’s what I see as public policy. When a community loses its clinic, that's an economic crisis. When there's no childcare, that's a workforce crisis. When there's no housing or broadband, young people leave — and that's a crisis for our future. It is time for a Representative that fights to bring Opportunity at Home.\nNote: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it."}]