Peterson also favors more transportation funding and more state support for local governments. When low-income working Minnesotans were pushed off the MinnesotaCare health care program, counties ended up dealing with the problem, she said.

“Those people don’t go away,” Peterson said. “It falls on the property tax, and I don’t think that’s a responsible way to fund that.”

Neuville has worked on numerous crime-related bills during his 15 years in the Senate, including stiffening penalties for drunken-driving and sex offenses. He was successful last year in adjusting child-support payment formulas, and he was a vocal critic of the legislative branch abdicating its budget-setting authority to a “special master” during the state government shutdown.

Neuville has received numerous awards from business organizations and is a leading opponent of abortion in the state Senate.