Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens launched her candidacy for governor Wednesday, a suburban politician little-known in state politics and the first woman to enter a Republican field so far dominated by men with Capitol pedigrees and decades of GOP activism.

“You’ve seen our government come to a halt over intractable differences at the Capitol,” said Giuliani Stephens, referring to lengthy budget stalemates that eventually pitted the GOP-controlled Legislature against Gov. Mark Dayton in court this year.