Who is Jason Lewis? 5 things to know about the MN candidate for U.S. Senate

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Minnesota Senate candidate on Trump-Biden battling for state’s race

GOP Senate candidate Jason Lewis weighs in on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’

Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis is facing a tight race against freshman Democratic Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith.

Lewis is a radio show host and previously served as a Minnesota representative for the state's 2nd District for the 115th U.S. Congress between 2017 and 2019. Before serving in Congress, Lewis operated a family automotive business called Lewis Motor Supply Inc. before a government highway project forced him and his sisters to close, according to his website.

"I’m running for U.S. Senate to represent Minnesota/ Not just Minneapolis / St Paul. Not just the Suburbs/ Not just greater MN," Lewis tweeted when he announced his candidacy in January. "All Minnesotans! From Marshall to Grand Marais, East Grand Forks to Rochester, and everywhere in between!"

Here are five things to know about Lewis:

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1. Lewis is from Iowa

The former congressman was born in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1955. He received his bachelor's degree in business and education from the University of Iowa and went on to receive his master's in political science from the University of Colorado at Denver.

2. President Trump endorsed Lewis

President Trump endorsed Lewis, who has expressed support for the president, in August. 

"Jason Lewis will be an incredible Senator for the State of Minnesota!" Trump tweeted on Aug. 17. "He is a proven leader who will help us Lower your Taxes, Protect our Communities and Defend your Second Amendment. Jason worked with me to save Minneapolis along with your great National Guard after your local political leaders failed to do so. Jason has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"

Lewis responded to the endorsement in an Aug. 17 tweet, thanking the president for his "kind words."

"Thank you for the kind words @realdonaldtrump  — you’re right! I’m not running for U.S. Senate for peronal gain. I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for Minnesota! I will do what’s RIGHT for Minnesota! Not what’s popular in the DC swamp!" he wrote.

3. Lewis has faced criticism for his comments about women

The Senate candidate has faced scrutiny for his comments about women on his radio show, "The Jason Lewis Show," and while filling in for radio show host Rush Limbaugh on "The Rush Limbaugh Show," according to a 2018 CNN analysis of 15 months worth of audio from the former congressman.

"...It used to be that women were held to a little bit of a higher standard,” Lewis said while discussing women's rights activist Sandra Fluke in 2012 as he filled in for Limbaugh. “We required modesty from women. Now, are we beyond those days where a woman can behave as a slut, but you can’t call her a slut?”

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He also accused young female voters of being "ignorant of the important issues in life" in a 2012 broadcast of his show, according to The Atlantic.

"You’ve got a vast majority of young single women who couldn’t explain to you what GDP means," he said during the show. "You know what they care about? They care about abortion. They care about abortion and gay marriage. They care about 'The View.' They are nonthinking."

Jason Lewis, Republican candidate for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, is interviewed in CQ Roll Call offices, June 17, 2016. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Lewis made a number of other comments about changing culture and women's modesty during his earlier days as a radio host, which his former campaign manager Becky Alery defended in a 2018 statement to CNN's KFile, saying "it was his job to be provocative while on the radio."

Lewis' rhetoric toward women has shifted in recent years. The Senate candidate in 2018 hosted a discussion with former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as part of his female-centered campaign, "Independent Women for an Independent Voice."

"All too often, liberal Democrats and some in the press dictate to women what issues are important to them rather than letting women speak for themselves," Lewis wrote in a 2018 Facebook post. "On the campaign trail, I’ve heard directly from women from all backgrounds and walks of life about the issues they care about and we are very proud to have the opportunity to share their stories about their women’s issues that motivate them I’m honored to have their support."

4. Lewis authored the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 

One of Lewis' most noteworthy accomplishments while representing Minnesota's 2nd District was authoring the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which Trump signed into law in December 2018.

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Lewis reauthorized the JJDPA, first enacted in 1974, in 2018 for the first time in 16 years. The bill includes detention alternatives for status crimes, the development of job-training skills, an end to restraints on pregnant juveniles, detainment restrictions for juveniles awaiting trial and help for human trafficking victims, according to Lewis' website. 

"Lewis' bill is about getting youth back on track after making a wrong turn … it is smart crime prevention that puts the interests of young people first," Red Wing Chief of Police Roger Pohlman said in a May 2017 statement advocating for the legislation.

5. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., defeated Lewis in his second bid for Congress

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who is running for reelection to represent Minnesota's 2nd District against Republican candidate Kyler Kristner, defeated then-Rep. Lewis in his second bid for Congress in 2018.

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Craig condemned Lewis' support for the president's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as well as the former congressman's support for then-Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was facing accusations of sexual assault amid his 2018 confirmation hearings.