On the eve of Minnesota’s Democratic primary election, Kobey Lane met with us to outline a comprehensive policy platform centered on trans rights, economic justice, and environmental protection. Lane, a 26-year-old transgender woman, is making history as one of the first trans candidates to run for governor in Minnesota. We want to be mindful that we ultimately don’t know the gender identities of every single person who has run for Governor. Some may have had to remain in the closet.
Lane’s 100-day plan includes her immediate priorities: rescinding copper-nickel mineral leases on the Boundary Waters on day one, eliminating state cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and signing an executive order banning license plate readers known as flock cameras on state property and highways.
“The people of Minnesota, the people that I would serve are the ones who deserve that protection in this state,” Lane said when discussing how she would respond to potential federal occupations similar to those seen earlier in the year.
Budget Priorities Center on Care Workers
Lane’s budget proposals reflect a commitment to supporting essential workers and rural communities. Her platform calls for establishing a $20-an-hour minimum wage floor for care workers—including nursing home staff and direct support professionals—with annual increases built in. In rural Minnesota, education and healthcare represent the two largest employment sectors.
“When we make sure that we get money into the hands of direct support professionals, people working in professions of care, it’s a great way to get money into rural communities and thus help stimulate rural economic revitalization as well,” Lane explained.
Additional budget priorities include fully funding state employee negotiated contracts, creating an office to coordinate first-time homebuyer resources, and significantly increasing funding for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) office to address cold cases within indigenous communities.
Housing and Renter Protections
Addressing one of the most pressing issues facing Minnesotans, Lane proposed capping rent increases at 3% statewide, modeled after St. Paul’s ordinance. The proposal includes exemptions up to 8% when landlords can prove additional costs from improvements or property tax increases. To prevent slowing new construction, a 15-year exemption for new buildings was incorporated into the model.
“I believe in what the Homes for All movement is doing, and it starts with making sure people have a safe place to stay at night,” Lane said.
The proposal aligns with newly passed federal housing funding that would support emergency shelters, multifamily units, and transitional housing development.
Trans Rights Protection as State Mission
Looking ahead to a potential new legislative session in January, Lane outlined what she views as critical priorities for maintaining Minnesota’s position as a refuge state for LGBTQ+ people. Her agenda includes stockpiling hormones in case federal supply restrictions are imposed, protecting teachers and students who use their chosen pronouns without fear of retribution, and passing contingency funding should gender-affirming care funding be eliminated at the federal level.
Perhaps most notably, Lane called for banning genital normalization surgeries on intersex children up to 12 years old. “I think that it’s really important that we maintain the autonomy of people to make those decisions for themselves and not when they’re babies,” she said.
The platform also addresses documentation security by sealing name change records. Currently, court records remain publicly accessible, exposing transgender individuals’ former names—a practice Lane described as dangerous. “As it stands currently, if you go into the court record system, you can look up and there’s your dead name. And so for a lot of people, that’s a really scary way that they’re going to be outed as trans.”
A Historic Campaign Journey
Lane’s decision to enter the race came after Governor Tim Walz announced he would not seek a third term and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar declared her gubernatorial candidacy. She expected a progressive challenger to emerge, but when none did Lane stepped forward. She felt that the progressive wing of the party needed representation.
The path was challenging. Lane recalled reaching what she thought was a dead end at the state convention, worried she might fail to secure enough endorsements from each congressional district to qualify for the primary ballot. “I had reached this point in the night where we didn’t know if we were going to meet the requirements,” she said.
Minnesota State Representative Leigh Finke, the first out transgender person serving in the state legislature, played a crucial role in mobilizing support. Lane credited Finke with earning her the nomination, describing how the representative urged delegates to second her nomination and amplify her voice at the convention.
Despite ultimately not receiving the endorsement vote, Lane secured nearly a third of the delegate votes—an unprecedented achievement for a transgender candidate at her age without prior elected office experience.
Message to Aspiring Queer Candidates
When asked what advice she would offer others considering running for office, Lane emphasized personal agency and community connection. Drawing from her own experience as a 26-year-old trans woman launching a statewide campaign without prior elected experience, she encouraged listeners to take action.
“This is about demanding a seat in the halls of power. No one is going to tap you on the shoulder to say that you should run,” Lane said. “What’s really important that I hope to show through this entire process is that if this 26-year-old trans woman can dare to run a statewide race, given that she didn’t have prior elected experience, you can go and meet your neighbors. You can run for House, Senate, school board. You absolutely can do it.”
She concluded with an affirmation of community resilience: “Queer people are resilient and we are resourceful. We’re organizers. It is much easier once you’re doing it than it seems on the outset.”
What Comes Next
Lane reflected on what the voting process means to her personally. “Come tomorrow, whether it’s one vote, 10,000 votes or 100,000 votes, there is a human on the other side of that vote. There is someone who bubbled in our name that said, ‘I am placing my hopes. I am placing my dreams in this candidate for change.’ And that’s where the real honor is.”
For more information about Lane’s candidacy, supporters can visit kobeyforgovernor.com. The primary election results will be reported on The Gaily Show’s live election coverage beginning at 8:00 PM on AM 950 Radio.
