Statement from Phillip C. Parrish, Candidate for Governor of Minnesota 2026
For Immediate Release
May 24, 2025
For over four decades, I’ve watched Minnesota’s political elite orchestrate a system that claims to champion grassroots democracy while rigging the game to favor their chosen candidates. They hide behind the caucus process, tight election deadlines, and a complicit legacy media to manipulate public opinion and stifle real choice. But Minnesotans are waking up, and in 2026, we the people will outmaneuver these insiders at their own game—because while they’re playing checkers, we’re playing chess.
The elite’s arrogance and narcissistic behavior are their greatest weaknesses. They underestimate the intelligence and resolve of everyday Minnesotans, assuming their control over party endorsements, media narratives, and convoluted caucus rules will keep them in power. But I have a strategy to beat them, rooted in transparency, grassroots empowerment, and relentless engagement.
First, we’ll dismantle their caucus stranglehold by pushing for a March primary for all offices, ensuring broader voter participation and reducing the influence of low-turnout, insider-driven caucuses. My campaign will educate Minnesotans on how to navigate the current system, mobilizing new voices to flood precinct meetings and demand accountability from party bosses. We’ll turn their “grassroots” rhetoric against them, exposing how they’ve weaponized it to exclude the very people they claim to represent.
Second, we’ll bypass the legacy media’s gatekeeping. My campaign will leverage direct communication—through town halls, social media, and platforms like X—to share our vision of a Minnesota that prioritizes fairness, opportunity, and community. While the elite rely on Star Tribune headlines and MPR soundbites to anoint their candidates, we’ll build a movement that speaks directly to you, unfiltered and unafraid.
Third, we’ll outwork them. The elite’s narcissism makes them lazy—they expect loyalty without earning it. My team and I will be in every corner of Minnesota, from Duluth to Rochester, listening to your concerns and offering solutions that reflect your values, not party dogma. We’ll expose their tight filing deadlines and endorsement games as barriers to democracy, rallying Minnesotans to demand a system where every voice counts.
This is a chess match, and we know their moves. Their arrogance blinds them to the power of a united people. Their narcissism makes them believe they’re untouchable. But in 2026, we’ll checkmate their corrupt system with a coalition of everyday Minnesotans—farmers, workers, parents, and dreamers—who refuse to be pawns in their game.
Join me, Phillip C. Parrish, in this fight for a Minnesota where the people, not the elite, decide our future. Together, we’ll show them that when we play chess, we the people always win.
With unwavering integrity and dedication,
Phillip
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