Education Minnesota endorses Ellison for attorney general
For more information, contact:
CHRIS WILLIAMS
651-292-4816 (work)
651-247-5539 (cell)
ST. PAUL, Minnesota. May 27, 2026 — Education Minnesota has endorsed Attorney General Keith Ellison’s campaign for reelection.
The political action committee of Education Minnesota recommended the endorsement, which was accepted by the union’s governing board. As part of the endorsement process, Ellison met with educators and answered questions on public education funding, union and collective bargaining rights, protecting immigrant students and staff, civil rights in the classroom, holding corporations accountable for targeting children, and charter school oversight and accountability.
“Keith Ellison has used the full power of his office to protect Minnesota’s students from social media companies that addict them, vaping companies that target them, and an administration that would defund their schools,” said Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota. “Educators see that work every day. We’re proud to stand with him.”
Thirty educators from across the state comprise the Education Minnesota PAC board. They are classroom teachers, education support professionals, retired educators, higher education instructors and aspiring educators who are studying for their careers.
The work of the attorney general often overlaps with the values of educators when it comes to offering a well-funded education that’s welcoming to all students and keeping Minnesota’s young people healthy and safe.
When President Donald Trump’s administration moved to condition hundreds of millions of dollars in Minnesota school aid on compliance with the administration’s reinterpretation of civil rights law, Ellison sued and secured an agreement protecting the full $530 million. He also fought the administration’s attempt to freeze $74 million in federal education funding weeks before the 2025 school year began, securing the release of all withheld funds.
Educators see the effects of social media in their classrooms every day. Ellison sued TikTok for designing its platform to exploit the developing minds of young users. A Hennepin County district judge rejected TikTok’s motion to dismiss in March 2026. Ellison also sued Meta for knowingly addicting young people and demanded that Instagram remove a feature that allowed minors to broadcast their exact location.
Teachers and school staff have watched vaping spread through their buildings for years. Ellison sued Juul in December 2019 for marketing to youth and won a $60.5 million settlement in May 2023. He later sued High Light Vapes in January 2025 for selling e-cigarettes disguised as highlighters, winning a court order in April 2025 banning the company from Minnesota.
“Educators want an attorney general who fights for students when no one else will, holds corporations accountable, and treats the rule of law as something worth defending,” Byron said. “Keith Ellison has done exactly that, and Education Minnesota is proud to stand with him.”
Education Minnesota will announce more endorsements in the weeks ahead.
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
