Christopher Kehoe

Christopher Kehoe earned a high school diploma from the Mounds Park Academy. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 2008 and a graduate degree from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in 2015.

His career experience includes working as an actor.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a theatre artist, arts administrator, and nonprofit professional, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ICE's January occupation of Minneapolis and murder of Renée Good and Alex Pretti are what pushed me to get into this race. Of course I'm outraged by the Trump administration's tactics and methods, but I also see Congress as guilty of abdicating its core duty of keeping the Executive Branch in check. Simply put: the Legislative Branch needs to begin legislating again, and to stop earning paychecks for basically doing nothing.

My background in nonprofit governance is a major influence on my vision for government writ large. Nonprofit organizations don't think of "ownership" and "power" in the way for-profit corporations do, and there's a much greater emphasis on patience, deliberation, and stewardship throughout the nonprofit decision-making process. These are virtues I'd love to promote in our Senate body.

At the end of the day, I don't believe it's a battle between Democrat vs. Republican. It's public sector vs. private interest, and policy shaping (liberal and conservative) and government function (legislative, judicial, and executive) all have important roles to play in this fundamental struggle between public rights and private opportunities.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Holding ICE (and their enablers) accountable for crimes:

Border security doesn't need to come at the cost of our compassion, our patience, our ability to see the dignity in every human being regardless of immigration status. But ICE's hubris and arrogance cost Renée Good and Alex Pretti their lives. Murder has no statute of limitations, so the (ir)responsible parties within ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Trump administration had better lawyer up—we've got the video receipts.

Yeah, it'll see some people absolutely disgraced for their incompetence and cruelty. That's the point.Reforming Section 230 and dismantling Citizens United:

Section 230 is a relic from 1996, originally written for a very different World Wide Web. Let's update Section 230 for a 2026 internet: seeing social media platforms as the publishers they are and holding them just as accountable for defamation as we do for any other form of published media. It was never about being a “digital town square.”

If political ads make you want to walk into traffic, you have 2010's Citizens United to thank. Political campaigning suddenly became a lucrative business, and corporate interests' ambitions grew as wide as their wallets were deep. Let's spell out in law that corporations aren't people, and that money isn't speech.Ending the Senate filibuster:

If we want to see the Executive Branch held in check, then it's imperative that the Legislative Branch begins legislating again. Riddle me this: how, in a democracy, can we see a piece of legislation garner more than 50% of a vote and still fail to pass? When a second-grader can call bullshit, you know you're in trouble. Save the poetic imagery about the Senate being a cooling saucer; it's really a life-support machine protecting the status quo. It's beyond time for the Senate filibuster to be put out to pasture.

Yeah, it'll mean senators will need to start working for a living. That's the point.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Regulating AI and data center construction, and establishing data privacy protections on the federal level. United States citizens deserve data privacy rights on par with the European Union's GDPR (if not more stringent).

I also believe elected leaders have the obligation to attend to the emotional health and wellbeing of their constituents, and that starts with monitoring our rhetoric. We can advocate priorities and promote policies without tipping into catastrophe and crisis. As leaders, it's on us to model the poise and dignity we want to see throughout our society.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I greatly admire Cory Booker. I believe he leads with a tremendous amount of compassion and empathy, and accounts for the emotional wellbeing of the people he serves as a part of his leadership style.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Stewardship. You don't need to be a Christian to be an American, of course, but I believe Christ calls upon us to serve, first and foremost. Elected officials serve a people and serve a process—they're not here to amass and cling to power.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The production of legislative bills, and the facilitation of any legislation to a vote. We've grown way too accustomed to a non-responsive, do-nothing Congress. The Senate needs to be a major player in moving legislation forward to meaningful decision points, so that the electorate is served by a functional process.

The second main responsibility is to keep the Executive and Judicial Branches in check. "Roe v. Wade," for instance, was never a law—just a Supreme Court decision. Executive Orders fly out of both Democrat and Republican administrations at an alarming rate. When branches other than the Legislative are effectively producing laws, a crucial series of checks and balances clearly aren't happening.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to be seen as policymaker who could blend stewardship, progressive ambition, creativity, and a sense of humor.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a janitor for a small manufacturing shop for about six months in high school. The hours were a great fit, but it still became too difficult to balance the job with schoolwork.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I believe we all struggle to be in community effectively and healthfully. There's an unavoidable tension between extending compassion (to the risk of being self-sacrificing) and advocating for ourselves (to the risk of being unkind and ungracious). It's usually the scenarios when grace, curiosity, and empathy are the hardest for us to access is when they're needed most.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Perceived leadership from the rest of the world. China's been doing a very good job of filling the diplomatic, humanitarian, and infrastructure vacuum left in our recent swing to isolationism. We need to do a better job of balancing domestic growth with international stewardship, and being a responsible (but not dominating) power in an ever-globalizing economy.

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Having two senators from each state (regardless of population size) is an added layer of respect for state governance and state representation, and I think it's wise to always keep that in mind. It's a feature; not a bug. Federal government and federal legislation should always remain humble and gracious in the face of state government. That's not to say that federal legislation shouldn't be bold, but the Senate should respect that the United States is a large and varied place, and that what works for San Francisco and Seattle won't automatically work for Billings and Laramie.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

No. I believe we conflate "compromise" and "consensus" at our peril. Compromise ultimately weakens our values and betrays the people counting on us. Consensus, on the other hand, leads with curiosity and seeks which priorities various stakeholders may all share (however small that sliver may be). Once a small consensus is found, that consensus can be grown through persuasion, diplomacy, and trust.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

The fall of the Berlin Wall. I was much too young to understand what was happening, but I saw its importance reflected in the adults around me.