We must continue to fight to protect the American Dream.

The same thing happens at the border: no results. Craig is quick to brag about being an independent voice and standing up to his party. But when the rubber meets the road, that’s simply not the case. In May 2023, a common-sense border security bill, the Border Security Act, was passed that would give the Border Patrol more resources, restart construction of the border wall, and reform the asylum process. But Craig sided with her party over the American people and voted against the bill.

And then there is the issue of public safety. After the 2020 riots, Craig once again put party before principle and voted for the Justice in Policing Act, which would bring law enforcement to its knees and eliminate qualified immunity. Then, when she realized Minnesotans were proud to support law enforcement and that her re-election chances might be in jeopardy, she changed her tune. She has waived qualified immunity and is now struggling to appear reasonably pro-law enforcement. Is there anything she wouldn’t change her mind about in the name of political expediency?

As a federal prosecutor, I often questioned witnesses and defendants who lied or misled about facts they knew to be true. They lie to protect something valuable to them. Unfortunately, since Craig has no results to fall back on, she began lying about my position on Social Security (I will not cut any Social Security benefits) and, most egregiously, on abortion. WCCO and KSTP fact-checked Craig and said her attack ads are misleading. Craig lies to protect his power. But the power does not belong to her, it belongs to us.

I’m proud of Minnesota. Better days lie ahead of us, both as a state and as a country. But this will only happen if we continue to fight to protect the American Dream, generation after generation. My grandfather helped protect it while a prisoner of war during World War II. My father achieved the American dream when he immigrated here from Sudan. And now I’m living the American dream. I helped defend him as a federal prosecutor and as a Marine, and I will be honored to continue this case as your congressman.

Joe Teirab of Burnsville is the Republican candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. See joeformn2.com.