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Scott Jensen (Minnesota politician)

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Scott M. Jensen (born November 19, 1954) is an American family physician and politician. A resident of Carver County, Minnesota, he was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2017 until 2021 representing a part of the far western Twin Cities area. He was among the more bipartisan members of the Minnesota Senate.[1]

Scott Jensen
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 47th district
In office
January 3, 2017 – January 5, 2021
Preceded byJulianne Ortman
Succeeded byJulia Coleman
Personal details
Born (1954-11-19) November 19, 1954 (age 70)
Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMary
Children3
ParentCarl Jensen (father)
ResidenceLaketown Township
Alma materLuther Northwestern Theological Seminary
University of Minnesota
(BA, MD)
Occupationphysician

Jensen first received wide attention in 2017, when he jumped onto the stage to give then-Governor Mark Dayton medical attention after Dayton collapsed while giving a speech at the Minnesota State Capitol.[2]

Jensen was a critic of COVID-19 lockdowns and COVID-19 vaccine requirements.[3] He is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota in the 2022 election.

Early life, education, and career

Born in the small town of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Jensen's father, Carl Jensen, was a longtime local politician who was originally a Republican but later became a Democrat. Jensen first became involved in politics as a supporter of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.[4] In the 1990s and 2000s, he served on the school board in Waconia, Minnesota. Jensen also chaired the local Republican Party.[5] A physician, he previously was a professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School and has a small family medical practice in Watertown, Minnesota.[6]

Jensen graduated valedictorian from Sleepy Eye High School in 1973. He attended Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary from 1977 to 1978 and the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in physiology in 1978 and a Doctor of Medicine in 1981. He was a Bush Fellow of leadership and policy studies at the University of Minnesota in 1999.[7]

He was also a member of the Citizens Alliance Bank board, of which he was the audit committee chair.[8]

Jensen was selected by The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians as the 2016 Family Physician of the Year.[9]

Political career

Minnesota Senate

Jensen was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2016.[10] During his tenure, he supported legalization of marijuana and a ban on conversion therapy.[11]

In July 2019, Jensen announced he would not seek reelection in 2020.[10]

In February 2020, Jensen put forward a bill to create a new commission to probe drug price increases.[12]

COVID-19 response

Jensen received notoriety for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. PolitiFact cited him as a major contributor to their "Lie of the Year 2020: Coronavirus downplay and denial".[13] The report states, "Fox News featured a guest who opened a new misinformation assault on hospitals. Dr. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota physician and Republican state senator, told Ingraham that, because hospitals were receiving more money for COVID-19 patients on Medicare—a result of a coronavirus stimulus bill—they were overcounting COVID-19 cases. He had no proof of fraud, but the cynical story took off. Trump used the false report on the campaign trail to continue to minimize the death toll."[13]

Jensen also said COVID-19 deaths were being inflated, when experts say the opposite was likely.[14] On April 8, 2020, Jensen appeared on "The Ingraham Angle" and said that the method of gathering statistics could be "misleading", adding, "The idea that we’re going to allow people to massage and sort of game the numbers is a real issue because we’re going to undermine the [public] trust."[14] According to a USA Today report, "Experts say that COVID-19 deaths are likely not being overinflated ... Instead, many experts say the nation is likely amid an undercount of the death toll due to the disease due to factors like false negatives on tests, a lack of testing and people who have died in their homes without receiving a positive test."[14]

In a July 2020 video posted to Facebook, Jensen said that two complaints had been made against him to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice about public statements he had made related to COVID-19. Jensen shared a letter from the Board saying that "in accordance with Minnesota law, the Board is required to make inquiries into all complaints and reports wherein violations of the Medical Practice Act are alleged."[15]

On May 21, 2021, Jensen joined anti-vaccine activist Simone Gold and the right-wing political organization America's Frontline Doctors in suing the United States Department of Health and Human Services, attempting to prevent children from receiving COVID-19 vaccines.[16] The 80-page petition, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, calls the vaccines "experimental injections" and says COVID-19 presents "zero risk" of death to children.[16] "We doctors are pro-vaccine, but this is not a vaccine. This is an experimental biological agent whose harms are well documented (although suppressed and censored) and growing rapidly, and we will not support using America's children as guinea pigs," Gold said.[16] The petition says Jensen believes "it would be reckless to subject anyone in that age group to the experimental COVID-19 vaccine" and that he believes recommending that children get vaccinated "would violate his oath as a doctor and place him in an untenable position".[16]

Jensen has questioned the medical and scientific consensus that ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are ineffective against COVID-19.[17] The Star-Tribune reported in 2021 that Jensen had called for "civil disobedience" by Minnesotans and businesses in the state, asking them to ignore vaccine and mask guidance intended stop the spread of COVID-19.[18] Jensen's statements have resulted in four dropped investigations by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice regarding the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 virus, according to the Associated Press.[19] He has been banned from TikTok and restricted from advertising on Facebook for violating community guidelines on COVID-19 misinformation.[20]

Minnesota gubernatorial campaign

Jensen is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota in the 2022 election. During the campaign, he pledged that he would try to get abortion banned in Minnesota if elected.[21]

Personal life

Jensen and his wife, Mary, have three children and reside in Laketown Township.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Former state Sen. Scott Jensen to announce run for governor | Bring Me The News". bringmethenews.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. ^ Bierschbach, Briana; Tribune, Stephen Montemayor Star. "Enigmatic doctor Scott Jensen charts path to GOP frontrunner status in Minnesota governor's race via Trump playbook". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Vaccine doubts fuel doctor's rise in Minnesota governor race". ABC News. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  4. ^ "Senator Scott Jensen on Mission Accomplishers at the Libertarian Convention. – AM 950". www.am950radio.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Coleman's son eyes state Senate seat for 2016". MPR News. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "A conversation with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen". MPR News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Jensen, Scott". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  8. ^ "Candidates file for state seats: DFL pits veterans against incumbent Republican rep, doctor". Sun Patriot. ECM Publishers. June 30, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  9. ^ https://mafp.org/news/284769/Watertown-Doctor-is-the-Recipient-of-the-2016-MN-Family-Physician-of-the-Year-Award.htm
  10. ^ a b Callaghan, Peter (July 26, 2019). "State Sen. Scott Jensen is not running again — and he has a lot to say about the Legislature: 'This is a really bizarre place'". MinnPost. Retrieved March 31, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "A Maverick Minnesota State Senator Plans to Call It Quits". TPT Originals. July 31, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Magan, Christopher (February 19, 2020). "Top idea for lowering drug prices may be too controversial to become law". Twin Cities. Retrieved March 31, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ a b Baird, Caryn. "Lie of the Year: Coronavirus downplay and denial". PolitiFact. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Richardson, Ian (April 17, 2020). "Fact check: Is US coronavirus death toll inflated? Experts agree it's likely the opposite". USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Jessie Van Berkel, "Sen. Scott Jensen says he has 'no regrets' about his COVID-19 comments", Star Tribune, July 7, 2020. https://www.startribune.com/sen-scott-jensen-says-complaints-about-covid-19-comments-may-be-political/571650782/
  16. ^ a b c d Fiore, Kristina (May 26, 2021). "Simone Gold's Group Sues to Stop COVID Shots for Kids". MedPage Today. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  17. ^ https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/dr-scott-jensen-continues-to-tout-unproven-ivermectin-as-treatment-for-covid
  18. ^ https://www.startribune.com/gop-candidate-scott-jensen-calling-for-civil-disobedience-of-covid-policies/600095847
  19. ^ https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/vaccine-doubts-fuel-doctors-rise-minnesota-governor-race-80699607 [bare URL]
  20. ^ https://www.startribune.com/gop-gubernatorial-candidate-scott-jensen-restricted-by-facebook-from-advertising/600083583/
  21. ^ "A conversation with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen". MPR News. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
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