REGIONAL—Former Cook County Commissioner and Grand Marais Mayor Sue Hakes announced this week that she is forming an exploratory committee to gauge support for a bid for the Eighth District U.S. Rep. seat currently held by Rick Nolan.

Nolan has not indicated whether he intends to seek re-election in 2018. He is currently considering a possible run for Minnesota governor, instead.

While Hakes has not run a partisan race in the past, she makes no bones about her opposition to the priorities of the Trump administration.

“When I think about Minnesota’s Eighth District, I think people first,” Hakes said. “I want to fight the current administration’s budgetary goals which chip away at—or gut entirely— the very institutions that make rural life possible and the amenities that make rural America a desirable place to live.” Hakes describes herself as a problem solver who is guided by Martin Luther King’s words, “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

Hakes said her passions lie in “building a resilient economy, making education a priority, ensuring access to quality affordable health care, and protecting the environment that is a big reason we all live here.”

A lifelong Minnesotan, Hakes has lived in Grand Marais since 1995. She and her husband, John Gorski, formerly of Eveleth, work in real estate. In 2014, she was awarded a Bush Foundation Fellowship, and studied at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Hakes served as Mayor of Grand Marais in 2009 and 2010, and Cook County Commissioner from 2011 through 2014. Prior to being an elected official, she owned and operated Sue Hakes Realty in Grand Marais and worked in Business Development at Honeywell in Minneapolis.