TJ Hawthorne

TJ Hawthorne is an unaffiliated candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives District 44B in the November 3, 2026 general election, challenging Democratic incumbent Leon Lillie.[1] An engineer and U.S. Navy veteran, he ran in the district as a Libertarian in 2022 and 2024.[1]

TJ Hawthorne was born in Minneapolis, graduated from North High School, and served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2009, according to Ballotpedia.[1] In a Ballotpedia survey, he said he has been an automation engineer for a company based in Oakdale for more than 20 years and has worked as a Department of Defense contractor.[2] He said he volunteers and sits on the board of his local food shelf.[2]

Hawthorne was the Libertarian candidate in District 44B in 2022, receiving 4.8 percent of the vote in a race won by incumbent Leon Lillie.[1] He ran again in 2024 and received 5.9 percent, with Lillie again winning.[1] In the 2026 survey, he named a proposal called Defend the Guard, family court policy, and food regulation among his key messages, and called himself an anti-war veteran whose first priority is Defend the Guard.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.