Republican governor candidate Paul Gazelka announced Friday that former Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens is joining his campaign as his running mate.

Giuliani Stephens is an attorney who served on the Woodbury City Council and for two terms as the city's mayor before stepping down in 2018. Gazelka, a former state Senate majority leader, framed their ticket in a video announcement as "tested leaders" who can "take our state back" from DFL Gov. Tim Walz.

"Mary Giuliani Stephens led one of Minnesota's fastest-growing cities," Gazelka said in the video. "In a liberal city, she got big things done while never compromising her values."

Giuliani Stephens isn't a newcomer to state politics. In 2018, she sought the GOP endorsement for Minnesota governor, eventually suspending her campaign and throwing her support behind former Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. She also ran for a state Senate seat in 2020, losing to DFL Sen. Susan Kent. Giuliani Stephens was an early backer of Gazelka's campaign for governor.

"Crime, inflation, high taxes, the lack of respect for parents and business owners. Minnesota can't wait. We must fire Walz," Giuliani Stephens says in the video. "Now is our best chance to change course."

In a statement, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin described their ticket as one that will "fight for their ultra-wealthy friends at the expense of working families."

"Paul Gazelka wants to roll back abortion rights and cut taxes for the wealthiest Minnesotans, so it's no surprise he chose a running mate who shares his agenda," Martin said. "Mary Giuliani Stephens wants to cut corporate taxes and estate taxes for millionaires while opposing minimum wage increases."

The announcement comes just a few weeks ahead of the Republican endorsing convention, where Gazelka and more than a half dozen other candidates will compete for the backing of party activists. Republicans are bullish about their chances to capitalize on national headwinds for Democrats to take back the governor's office this fall, but the party hasn't won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006.

Scott Jensen is the only other candidate who has announced a running mate so far, picking former Viking Matt Birk as his lieutenant governor candidate.

Republicans will gather in Rochester on May 14 to endorse a candidate for governor. All of the candidates have verbally pledged to abide by activists' decision.