Whether they see things her way or not, Minnesotans can appreciate the distinct voice Democrat Tina Liebling brings to the race for governor.

In our conversation — part of the editorial board’s policy-focused series with candidates from both parties — and on her website, the seven-term House member from Rochester makes clear that hers is a campaign run “the Bernie way.”

Among the DFL candidates, Liebling notes that she’s the only one who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his bid for the presidency in 2016.

Hers is a campaign willing to talk boldly about a progressive vision, Liebling told us. She’s running because “that voice is needed in the race” on behalf of Minnesotans the economy is leaving behind, she said.

Liebling describes herself as “laser-focused on what ordinary people need” and leveling the playing field for them. “Those are the people I’m thinking about — of every race and background.”

They’re people, Liebling said, who don’t have a lobbyist at the Capitol and maybe don’t even pay attention to what’s happening there because the struggle to make ends meet and care for their families takes precedence.

Meanwhile, special interests are increasingly powerful in our nation. They have “learned how to pull the levers of government,” Liebling told us.

“We must have a governor who will stand up to them,” she writes on her website, one who will help “give ordinary folks a hand up, and who can’t be bullied or intimidated.”

Liebling, an attorney with a master’s degree in public health, has one of the most liberal voting records in the Minnesota House of Representatives, according to a Pioneer Press study.

She supports a move to a single-payer health care system — providing government-paid or “universal” care for all — “a minimum wage that’s a living wage” and making the first two years of post-high-school education free to Minnesota students at a public college or university. With respect to measures to limit gun violence, she has called for background checks for all gun sales and longer waiting periods.

How does that approach to policy-making fare in a conservative-leaning district in Greater Minnesota? “If we are who we say we are,” Liebling told us, “people forgive us if we don’t always agree.”

She’s committed to following her values, knowing voters can replace her if they choose. Liebling’s attitude: “I wasn’t elected to be re-elected. People appreciate that.”

There are limits on what a governor can do, Liebling told us, but she would use the bully pulpit of the office to “sell her ideas and push the envelope at the Capitol.”

In addressing the minimum wage, she suggests exploring ways to help small employers — those likely to be hardest-hit by mandatory increases — “who honestly can’t pay that wage.”

When it comes to health care reform, Liebling — ranking Democrat on the Health and Human Services Reform Committee in her chamber — notes that people don’t have faith in government’s ability to initiate and administer new systems. She suggests tackling “smaller pieces as proof of concept” to “show people that this will work.”

Liebling advocates, for example, a single-payer dental program that would address a “huge unmet need” in an area where inability to pay has a profound impact on people’s health.

Yes, it all comes at a cost, she acknowledges, noting her commitment both to avoid wasteful spending and make sure taxpayers are aware of “what they’re paying for.” Government should do a better job, she contends, of showcasing examples of our tax dollars at work, including on big infrastructure projects.

Our session with Liebling included a staple of our conversations with candidates, asking them to discuss the ideas that form their sense of the limits of government. This lawmaker took a different tack than many others, suggesting that she’s not looking to expand what government does, but rather would consider “the way it does it and who it does it for.”

Changing demographics — including the needs of an expanding population of vulnerable people as Baby Boomers age while fewer young workers help support them — will force us to consider where government budgets need to grow, she told us.

Liebling’s well-stated perspectives — whether we agree or not — make the governor’s race better.