Kathleen Fowke. Courtesy photo.
Few companies have more at stake with the Minnesota Legislature and state regulators than electric and gas utilities, especially Xcel Energy. These regulated monopolies spend millions lobbying the Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission because state government writes and enforces environmental rules — like the recently passed plan to mandate carbon-free energy — while also determining what the companies can charge ratepayers.
In Kathleen Fowke, the Republican candidate for a special Senate election in west metro District 45, the utilities would likely win a sympathetic ear.
When Fowke unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022, over 70% of the individual and lobbyist contributions to her campaign came from donors with ties to utilities, according to an analysis from the Energy and Policy Institute.
Some of those same donors who gave to her two years ago have again contributed this year, including three current and former Xcel Energy vice presidents, as well as Great River Energy President and CEO David Saggau, who gave Fowke $1,000 in July.
Fowke is married to Ben Fowke, who was Xcel Energy’s CEO from 2011 to 2021 and now serves as a senior advisor to American Energy Power — one of the country’s largest electric companies, headquartered in Ohio. The energy industry has been lucrative for the Fowkes. In his last year at Xcel Energy alone, Ben Fowke made $22 million in total compensation.
Fowke in a statement to the Reformer said her campaign donors know her and “trust my work.” She said will consider energy policy proposals with an “open mind and support an ‘all of the above’ energy plan, embracing all forms of clean, reliable energy.”
“We can always do more to protect our natural resources, and I will be open to all options that make sense,” Fowke said. “Energy is too important to not demand a balanced, science-based approach.”
When asked about her husband’s ties to the utility industry, Fowke said he will not influence her decision-making.
“While I am proud of my husband’s leadership in the clean energy transition, my policy decisions will always be my own. I stand on my own two feet and will represent the best interests of this district,” Fowke said. “To suggest otherwise is partisanship at its worst. Minnesotans are tired of extreme politics; they want solutions, and I hope to be their voice.”
Republicans are hoping Fowke can win an upset in the special Senate election — the sole state Senate race on the ballot in November — to replace former Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, who resigned from her seat in June to run for Congress. Morrison beat Fowke by over 12 percentage points in 2022.
The DFL candidate this year is former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart. With the Senate evenly split 33-33 between Democrats and Republicans, the Senate race is expected to draw millions in outside spending. Senate District 45 includes the western Twin Cities suburbs Minnetonka, Wayzata, St. Bonifacius, Orono and Excelsior.
The Minnesota Legislature is a “citizen legislature,” meaning most lawmakers have another job since they only meet at the Capitol part-time. Lawmakers also are teachers, realtors, farmers and attorneys, meaning that they are often drafting policies that will directly affect their other occupation — creating a conflict of interest.
For example, Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, pushed for laws to change Minnesota’s teacher licensing while he was employed at Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union. Rep. Jessica Hanson, DFL-Burnsville, negotiated cannabis policy changes during this year’s legislative session while her partner registered a new cannabis business called Weed Girl, the Star Tribune reported last month.
For Fowke, the potential conflict of interest when considering energy legislation would be stark, as she or her husband still owns shares in Xcel Energy, according to Fowke’s economic interest statement.
“The Fowkes have a family fortune that derives directly from Xcel. It’s difficult to imagine Kathleen Fowke deviating from the company agenda, or using her power as a legislator to hold this powerful monopoly accountable,” said Karlee Weinmann, a researcher for the Energy and Policy Institute, a national utility industry watchdog organization. Weinmann also authored the EPI research on Fowke’s 2022 campaign donations.
Although lawmakers aren’t required to report their total wealth, public filings show Fowke would likely be among the Legislature’s wealthiest members, if elected. Candidates are required to disclose all securities that they or their spouse individually or jointly hold that are valued more than $10,000.
Fowke disclosed ownership in nearly 270 individual securities, meaning that at minimum she or her husband owns nearly $2.7 million in securities. They own securities in 3M, Ecolab, Target, Xcel Energy, General Mills, UnitedHealth Group, Amazon, Apple, Chevron, Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson and Johnson, Meta, Philip Morris International and Tesla.
The pair lives in a Tonka Bay home valued at $4.9 million, and they own a Naples, Florida, home valued at $6.7 million, according to Collier County, Florida, property records. Records show that in tax year 2024, the property taxes alone on the Naples home total over $67,000.
The Minnesota Campaign Finance Board only requires that candidates report real property in Minnesota held by the candidate or their spouse. Jeff Sigurdson, Minnesota Campaign Finance Board’s executive director, said state statute has long omitted declaring out-of-state property on candidate’s economic interest statements because if elected, Minnesota lawmakers don’t have influence on policy decisions made in other states, so there’s no potential conflicts of interest.
Kathleen Fowke has also used the tax code to claim a legal homestead property tax exemption for a Plymouth townhome she doesn’t live in and that’s outside the district she hopes to represent. Her aging mother lives there.
According to her economic interest statement, Fowke and her husband also declared ownership in a Minneapolis home valued at $383,000 and another valued at $347,000.
The second Minneapolis property is declared as a residential homestead, and in tax year 2024 it qualified for a $6,010 market value exclusion, meaning the taxable market value of the home was reduced, which in turn reduced property taxes owed. The home is owned by an LLC that has the same name as the address, and a spokesperson for Fowke said she and her son co-own and operate it as an Airbnb.
According to her latest campaign finance report, Fowke in July loaned her campaign $125,000. In 2022, she loaned her campaign $376,000, and that loan is still outstanding — meaning her campaign currently owes her more than $500,000.