By Jessie van Berkel
State legislators bought home monitoring systems. Congressmembers hired security agents. Political groups encouraged candidates to create safety plans. Cities tightened security in council chambers.
Security has been a growing priority at all levels of government in recent years as elected officials have faced more threats and harassment, and changes to campaign finance laws have led candidates to spend far more to keep themselves safe.
That trend is likely to intensify 鈥 around the country and in Minnesota 鈥 after the shootings of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman.
The unprecedented violence has also left elected officials grappling with how to balance personal protections with staying connected to their communities. Every incremental security move that distances lawmakers from constituents 鈥渃hips away at their value of being accessible,鈥 said Tim Storey, CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
鈥淭hey hold coffees. They walk the street parades. When constituents come to the Capitol and want to meet with them, man, they meet with them,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 put 10 layers of staff between them and the people in their district.鈥
Changes to campaign spending rules in Minnesota and Congress have allowed politicians to use more money for security in recent years.
Last year, the Federal Election Commission clarified that candidates and officeholders can use campaign funds for security measures such as alarm systems and security personnel. Previously, some campaigns had been able to put dollars toward security, but the FEC allowed it only on a case-by-case basis.
The amount of money federal candidates, including those in Minnesota, have spent on security has grown significantly since a decade ago, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets, which tracks money in U.S. politics. 鈥淭his has clearly been a feature of campaigns for a while,鈥 said Andrew Mayersohn, OpenSecrets鈥 committees researcher. 鈥淐ertainly 2024 was higher than in previous cycles.鈥