Attendees at the Hormel Retiree Breakfast Tuesday morning had an unexpected guest – U.S. House of Representatives candidate Randy Demmer.

Demmer, a Republican, made a surprise appearance at the breakfast, held at the Senior Center, to talk about Social Security and meet some of his potential constituents.

Speaking in front of the group of seniors, Demmer addressed a TV advertisement that his opponent, 1st District Congressman Tim Walz, has been running. The ad says Demmer intends to partially privatize Social Security, a move that would apparently cost the government over $2 trillion to start up.

“I never said that,” Demmer said in response to the ad. “I said nothing about privatizing Social Security. Please do not listen to that rhetoric; listen to your common sense.”

Demmer said his parents are in their 80s, and he would never want to deprive them, or any generation after them, of Social Security benefits.

Rosemary Kuether, one of the breakfast attendees, said she thinks politicians have to meet people and assure them face-to-face that the accusations against them may not be true.

“I was very upset about (the Walz ad) before, but I feel better about it now,” Kuether said.

Demmer said he feels that meeting voters on the campaign trail is important so the people can determine the sincerity of the candidates.

Republican state Legislative candidates Kathy Green and Jennifer Gumbel also made appearances at the breakfast.

“I’m running because of the state budget deficit,” Green said after introducing herself to the breakfast guests.

Gumbel also addressed the budget deficit.

“We’re going to drive out our revenue sources, and that’s just not sustainable,” she said.

Demmer referenced his stance on the budget, saying that he is fiscally conservative and wants to see the spending in Washington, D.C., decrease.

“This is an important election,” Demmer said. “If you’re concerned, we need to make change.”