Keith Klawitter Announces Campaign for Minnesota House District 15B

Longtime teacher, coach, and community leader launches campaign focused on fighting for rural communities, supporting farmers, and putting local voices first

MORGAN, MN — April 7, 2026 — Keith Klawitter, a longtime educator, coach, and fifty-year resident of Morgan, today announced his candidacy for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 15B, launching a campaign centered on strengthening rural communities and restoring local representation.

“I’ve spent nearly 50 years in this community as a teacher, a coach, and working alongside farmers, families, and small businesses,” Klawitter said. “This is a place people care about, work hard for, and take pride in. Rural Minnesota isn’t a problem to be fixed—it’s a community worth investing in and fighting for.”

Klawitter is entering the race as longtime incumbent Rep. Paul Torkelson retires.

A graduate of Hector High School and the University of Minnesota, Morris, Klawitter moved to Morgan in 1978 to begin his teaching career and has called it home ever since. He taught and coached in Morgan and Franklin for more than 30 years and has deep ties to the region’s agricultural economy, including working as a farmhand and hauling sugar beets to the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative.

Klawitter said his decision to run is rooted in what he’s hearing from people across the district.

“People here aren’t asking for much. They just want a fair shot,” Klawitter said. “But they’re sick of the politics coming out of Washington and St. Paul. Too many elected officials go to the Capitol and spend more time delivering for party leaders and special interests than the people back home. That’s backwards, and it’s part of why people are so frustrated right now.”

Klawitter’s campaign will focus on lowering costs for working families, supporting farmers facing volatile markets and rising input costs, protecting rural healthcare, and strengthening local schools and workforce pathways.

But Klawitter said the biggest issue he hears is a growing disconnect between communities and the people elected to represent them. Klawitter emphasized that he will take a different approach.

“The people of District 15B deserve practical solutions and real representation. I’m not running to launch a political career. I’m running because this is the best way I know how to serve the community that’s given me so much. I’ll work with anyone—Republican, Democrat, or independent—if it means getting something done for this district. And I won’t be afraid to speak up when something isn’t working, especially when rural Minnesota is getting overlooked.”

He also committed to maintaining a strong presence across the district.

“You shouldn’t have to wonder whether your representative is listening,” Klawitter said. “I’ll hold regular town halls, stay engaged across the district, and make sure people have a real voice in the decisions that affect their lives.”

Klawitter and his wife Carla have been married for 50 years. They raised four children in Morgan and now have eleven grandchildren.

“I’ve spent my life here. I know the people, I know the work, and I know what this district is capable of,” Klawitter said. “We don’t need to be fixed. We need to be represented. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

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