Dignity in retirement should not be up for debate.
Hubert Humphrey once said the moral test of government is how it treats “those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”
By that standard, we have serious work to do.
Erik was raised to respect his elders. That is not a political value. It is a human one.
But too often, seniors are treated as a cost to be cut, a market to be monetized, or a line item to be negotiated. That is wrong.
Since March of 2025, Erik has been listening to senior citizens as they share their concerns. One of the most impactful statements he’s heard came at an empty chair town hall in Lake Brunson, MN in Kittson County on April 15, 2025. A group of 75+ concerned citizens gathered to share what was on their hearts & minds. While not yet elected, Erik made the trip to hear what folks had to say. At one point, someone stood up and said “What assurances do we have that the elderly in rural places won’t be forgotten.” That statement has been a driving force behind his campaign.
The people who built this country, raised families, worked jobs, paid taxes, served communities, and kept promises should be able to retire with security and dignity.
That means protecting Social Security and Medicare. It means making sure senior care is safe, accountable, and staffed. It means protecting seniors from corporate profiteering, food insecurity, isolation, and systems that are too hard to navigate.
Erik believes our obligation to seniors does not shrink as people age.
It deepens.
We can do better.
Erik’s Priorities
Erik will fight to:
- Protect and strengthen Social Security
- Oppose benefit cuts and efforts to raise the retirement age
- Scrap or significantly raise the payroll tax cap so high earners pay more fairly into the system
- Protect Medicare from cuts and privatization
- Lower prescription drug costs for seniors
- Strengthen national standards for nursing homes and senior care
- Increase transparency and accountability in nursing home ownership
- Rein in private equity profiteering in elder care
- Improve access to food assistance, housing support, and benefits seniors have earned
- Support rural seniors who face long drives, limited providers, and fewer local services
…by honoring the people who built this country: protecting Social Security and Medicare, strengthening senior care, reining in profit-taking in nursing homes, and making sure every senior can access the benefits, care, nutrition, and dignity they have earned.
Protect Social Security
Social Security is not a handout.
It is a promise.
Workers and employers pay into Social Security across decades of working life. For millions of seniors, it is the foundation of retirement security.
But that promise is under pressure. Without action from Congress, Social Security faces a funding shortfall that could force automatic benefit cuts in the years ahead.
Erik will oppose cuts to Social Security benefits and efforts to raise the retirement age.
He supports scrapping or significantly raising the payroll tax cap so the highest earners contribute more fairly to the system. Right now, working people pay Social Security taxes on every dollar they earn up to the cap, while income above that level is not taxed for Social Security.
That is not fair, and it is not sustainable.
The solution should not be asking working families or seniors to do with less. The solution should start with asking the highest earners to pay into the system more fairly.
Protect Medicare
Medicare is one of the most important and trusted programs in the country.
Erik will fight to protect Medicare from cuts, privatization, and efforts to shift more costs onto seniors.
That means protecting traditional Medicare, lowering prescription drug costs, maintaining the ability to negotiate drug prices when taxpayer dollars are involved, and making sure rural seniors can access care close to home.
In Western Minnesota, healthcare access is often measured in miles. Seniors should not have to drive hours, wait months, or fight through confusing systems to get the care they need.
Medicare should be strengthened, not weakened.
Strengthen Senior Care Standards
Seniors in nursing homes and long-term care facilities should be safe, respected, and well cared for.
That requires staffing, oversight, transparency, and accountability.
Erik supports strong national standards for nursing homes and senior care facilities, including meaningful staffing expectations, regular inspections, public reporting, and real consequences when facilities fail residents.
The quality of care a senior receives should not depend on their ZIP code, a facility’s ownership structure, or whether regulators have the resources to do their jobs.
Every senior should be treated with dignity.
Rein In Private Equity in Elder Care
Elder care should be about care, not extraction.
Private equity firms and corporate chains have moved aggressively into nursing homes and senior living. Too often, the business model is simple: buy facilities, cut costs, reduce staffing, raise fees, and extract profit.
When that happens, residents, families, and workers pay the price.
Erik supports stronger transparency requirements for ownership of nursing homes and senior care facilities, limits on predatory private equity practices, and accountability for owners who put profit ahead of resident care.
Families should know who is responsible for their loved one’s care.
And no company should be allowed to hide behind layers of corporate structure while seniors suffer.
Help Seniors Access the Benefits They Have Earned
Too many seniors miss out on benefits they qualify for because the system is confusing, hard to navigate, or poorly explained.
That includes food assistance, housing support, healthcare programs, and other services designed to help seniors live with stability and dignity.
Erik supports simplifying applications, improving outreach, coordinating with healthcare providers and senior service organizations, and making sure seniors can access benefits without unnecessary paperwork, stigma, or confusion.
This is not about creating something new.
It is about making sure seniors receive the support they have already earned and are already eligible to use.
Address Food and Housing Insecurity
No senior should have to choose between groceries, medicine, utilities, and rent.
But too many do.
Seniors on fixed incomes are especially vulnerable to rising housing costs, food prices, prescription drug costs, property taxes, and utility bills.
Erik supports stronger food assistance outreach, affordable senior housing, rental support, home repair programs, energy assistance, and local services that help seniors stay safe and stable.
Aging with dignity should not depend on how much paperwork you can handle or whether you happen to know which office to call.
Support Rural Seniors
Rural seniors face challenges that Washington too often overlooks.
Long drives to medical care. Fewer local providers. Limited transportation. Smaller hospitals under financial pressure. Fewer senior housing options. Less access to in-home care, mental health care, and social services.
Erik believes federal policy should account for rural reality.
That means supporting rural clinics and hospitals, expanding telehealth where it helps, investing in transportation and home-based services, and making sure seniors in Western Minnesota are not treated as an afterthought.
Respect Caregivers and Senior Care Workers
Caregivers make dignity possible.
That includes family members caring for loved ones at home, home health aides, nursing assistants, nurses, social workers, and staff in long-term care facilities.
Too often, this work is underpaid, understaffed, and undervalued.
Erik supports policies that strengthen the caregiving workforce, improve staffing, support family caregivers, and recognize caregiving as essential work.
When caregivers are supported, seniors are safer and families are stronger.
Erik Wants to Hear From You
Seniors and their families are at the heart of communities across Western Minnesota.
Erik wants to hear your perspective — whether you are a senior, caregiver, family member, healthcare worker, veteran, or someone navigating Social Security, Medicare, housing, food assistance, or long-term care.