Meet Tyler Bass, candidate for U.S. House in Minnesota's 3rd District | WCCO Election Guide
Tyler Bass, the Republican nominee in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, is a small business owner from Minnetonka. The district covers the west metro suburbs.
Watch his 60-second video pitch and read below how he'd tackle Minnesota's top issues, from the national debt and health care to immigration, the economy and fraud.
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The federal government is running significant annual deficits. What specific federal spending would you cut or protect, and what tax changes, if any, would you support to address the national debt?
Families who have worked hard in this country for generations are reaching retirement with very little left. Americans are taxed on their pay, their homes, and nearly everything they buy. In Congress, I will work to cut federal income taxes, end double taxation, and protect the ability of families to pass assets on to their loved ones. I will also support policies that ease the property tax burden, so that families are not forced into debt just to keep their homes. On spending, I would begin with waste and fraud in government-funded programs before asking families to pay more.
What changes would you support to federal health care policy, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid?
As a former life and health insurance agent and agency owner, I would return to individually underwritten policies, as existed before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2014. Insurers used the MIB Group (formerly the Medical Information Bureau) report, a credit report for health, to determine coverage. The ACA pools everyone regardless of health, so families pay up to $30,000 a year in premiums and still face $5,000 to $15,000 deductibles.
Congresswoman Kelly Morrison voted against H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, even though it passed the House on December 17, 2025. Minnesotans deserve to know. People with pre-existing conditions would enter guaranteed-issue programs, similar to instant-approval life insurance. No one is turned away. These cost more, but healthy people stop subsidizing everyone else, and everyone gets a product that fits. Affordable care is achievable, but not through the ACA.
What immigration policies would you support at the federal level, including border security measures and any pathway to legal status for people currently in the country without authorization?
Anyone here illegally should leave; those who want to come should apply legally. Crossing illegally earns no legal status.
As a contractor, I see the consequences. One roofer paid smugglers $15,000, was deported or left three times, and paid $5,000 each return. Whistleblowers and workers say these smuggling networks tie to cartels in Twin Cities trades, including roofing, with drug and gun trafficking. Workers owe the cartel, which knows where they live and work. They fear it, not ICE.
Many are paid off the books, with no payroll taxes withheld. Others use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which lets anyone form an LLC, open a business bank account, and start a contracting business without legal status, disadvantaging law-abiding Americans.
I support a secure border and employer enforcement, and will work to create a website where trades businesses sponsor foreign workers for work visas, replacing smugglers.
What would you do in Congress to support jobs and economic growth in Minnesota, including your position on tariffs and international trade agreements?
After college, I could not find work as jobs went to people here illegally, the story on my website about Hormel. I took a risk, started At Home Fitness and other companies, and have owned businesses 13 years. My work requires diesel and gas. Fuel and goods cost too much; both must come down. Companies pass on costs, not savings. The FTC found grocers' revenue exceeded costs by over 6% in 2021 and 7% in 2023. Washington has not acted. I will. My opponent is worth an estimated $41 million; I am not.
Small businesses need real people, not a broken website, and affordable workers' compensation and insurance to hire. I support USMCA, but no one can live on $16 an hour. Over 100,000 Americans earn IT degrees yearly; I will hold corporations accountable for replacing them with visa workers, and bring manufacturing home by cutting regulations.
Minnesota has been at the center of some of the largest public-program fraud cases in the country in recent years. What would you do in Congress to strengthen oversight and prevent this kind of fraud in the future?
Minnesota is at the center of some of the largest public-program fraud cases in the country, and whistleblowers have come to me. A nonprofit should not be treated differently than a for-profit when it asks for taxpayer dollars. Anyone seeking federal funds should provide two years of financial filings and show they can operate independently. For service-based nonprofits, funding should work like a loan: every dollar invoiced is deducted from the grant, so taxpayers do not pay twice. I have seen providers buy homes and rent them back to the nonprofit, leaving taxpayers paying for 30 years. A provider that cannot operate without taxpayer dollars should lose them. I started At Home Fitness in 2013, trained children with autism, billed for services, got paid, and reinvested; any provider can. I will establish a District 3 fraud committee to research public money, assist legitimate businesses, and hold people accountable.