Scott Jensen (Minnesota politician)

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] He was among the more bipartisan members of the Minnesota Senate.[12]

Jensen received significant media attention in 2017 after running onto a stage at the Minnesota State Capitol to provide medical attention to Governor Mark Dayton after Dayton collapsed while giving a speech.[13]

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.[14]

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".[15] 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."[15]

Jensen also said COVID-19 deaths were being inflated, when experts say the opposite was likely.[16] 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."[16] 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."[16]

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."[17]

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.[18] 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.[18] "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.[18] 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".[18]

Jensen has questioned the medical and scientific consensus that ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are ineffective against COVID-19.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] He has been banned from TikTok and restricted from advertising on Facebook for violating community guidelines on COVID-19 misinformation.[22]

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.[23]