Minnesota GOP hopefuls for AG, Congress, face primary fights – Austin Daily Herald

MINNEAPOLIS — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen has escaped any critical problem from inside GOP ranks, however different party-backed candidates for lawyer basic and the southern Minnesota congressional seat left vacant by the dying of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn may have hurdles to clear within the state’s Aug. 9 main.

Former Hennepin County Sheriff Wealthy Stanek, who had been contemplating a main run however is recovering from accidents he suffered in an auto accident, cleared the lane for Jensen when he did not file on the secretary of state’s workplace by the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Jensen gained the GOP endorsement on the get together’s state conference final month.

In the meantime, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz acquired a lift when former broadcast persona Cory Hepola, who was backed by Andrew Yang’s Ahead Social gathering, additionally did not file by the deadline. Democratic strategists had feared that Hepola might function a spoiler and siphon votes away from Walz within the November election. Hepola mentioned in a press release that Minnesota nonetheless wants a robust third get together “to symbolize the bulk within the center.”

Whereas neither Jensen or Walz will face greater than token main opposition, two small pro-marijuana events which have main get together standing in Minnesota may have candidates on the November poll who might be elements if it’s a detailed race.

Within the lawyer basic’s race, Doug Wardlow, basic counsel to MyPillow, who was the dropping GOP candidate in 2018, went by means of along with his plan to problem endorsed candidate Jim Schultz, regardless of pleas by get together leaders that he abide by his earlier pledge to honor the state conference’s selection. Wardlow is an ally of MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell, a number one proponent of false accusations that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump.

Wardlow mentioned in a press release that solely he can beat incumbent Democratic Lawyer Common Keith Ellison.

However Republican Social gathering of Minnesota Chairman David Hann mentioned in a press release that Wardlow broke his phrase “and has as a substitute confirmed himself to be a shameless politician motivated solely by his private ambitions. Doug Wardlow has an notorious monitor file of failed election bids. With this futile main problem, he’ll add another loss to his file.”

Within the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District race, state Rep. Jeremy Munson and agricultural lawyer Matt Benda revived their efforts to win the seat left open by Hagedorn’s dying from most cancers in February, in a course of that voters might discover complicated.

Munson and Benda misplaced final week’s GOP particular main to former USDA official Brad Finstad. Finstad will face the Democratic particular main winner, former Hormel Meals chief govt Jeff Ettinger, in a particular basic election Aug. 9 to serve out the remainder of the late congressman’s time period, which ends in January.

However Munson, who’s a founding father of a hard-right faction amongst Republicans within the Minnesota Home, and Benda will get one other shot the identical day within the common main election, which is able to choose candidates for filling the seat within the subsequent Congress. That units up a theoretical risk by which one man is elected Aug. 9 to finish Hagedorn’s time period, however 1st District voters ship another person to Congress within the November basic election. Ettinger faces solely token opposition within the common main.

Hann mentioned in a separate assertion that he was “strongly upset” to see Benda and Munson file, on condition that 1st District Republicans overwhelmingly endorsed Finstad at a particular assembly Thursday. Hann mentioned that Benda and Munson, as former native get together officers, ought to have had extra respect for the get together’s endorsement.

Two Minnesota Democratic congresswomen will face well-financed however long-shot main challengers. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will face former Minneapolis Metropolis Council Member Don Samuels, a frontrunner of the opposition to a proposal on the town poll final fall that might have changed the Minneapolis Police Division with a revamped public security company. And U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum will face progressive group organizer Amane Badhasso of their St. Paul-based district.