Minnesota GOP regroups after recent electoral defeat.
Minnesota Republicans Face Uphill Battle After Democrats’ Liberal Agenda
The Washington Examiner recently visited Minnesota to investigate the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and their swift implementation of one of the most progressive agendas in state history. What we discovered was a struggling Republican Party, frustrated small-business owners, and a complete lack of cooperation from Democrats. In this series, the Washington Examiner delves into broken promises made by lawmakers, the Republican Party’s efforts to mitigate the damage, and the unintended consequences of certain bills, including one that could devastate small-business owners.
A Rocky Road Ahead for Minnesota Republicans
Minnesota Republicans are gearing up for a fresh start after a challenging legislative session that garnered national attention. However, they are well aware that the path ahead will be far from smooth.
During this year’s session, GOP lawmakers watched as their Democratic counterparts celebrated their victories after passing the most liberal agenda in the state’s history. On top of that, they had to combat narratives spread by their political rivals, accusing them of neglecting women, minorities, and education. To make matters worse, the party has been plagued by scandals and missteps, leaving it nearly bankrupt. The latest Federal Election Commission filing revealed a meager $53.81 in the party’s bank account.
“Republicans just aren’t calling the shots,” lamented Scott Cottington, a GOP consultant based in Minnesota. “The party’s so tainted now.”
Leading the charge to reverse the party’s fortunes is Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann, a soft-spoken 71-year-old Vietnam veteran and former minority leader in the state Senate. Hann fully understands the challenges that lie ahead and doesn’t shy away from acknowledging the difficult situation.
“When I took on this role, we essentially had nothing in place,” Hann shared with the Washington Examiner from GOP headquarters in Edina, Minnesota. “We had to start from scratch, build a team, raise funds, and we were ill-prepared for the statewide election in 2022.”
Minnesota recently experienced a midterm wave that saw voters rejecting Republican candidates. Currently, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party controls four out of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, both chambers of the state legislature, and all other statewide offices, including the governor’s mansion.
“I would argue that we shot ourselves in the foot in half of those races,” Hann admitted. “We should have had a majority in at least one of the houses if it weren’t for our own party’s incompetence. It’s on us. We simply didn’t have the resources to counter the Democrats’ negative messaging.”
Following a staff exodus, the party currently operates with just four full-time employees in a small suite nestled between doctor’s offices, investment groups, and a computer repair shop. A whiteboard inside displays a countdown to the Minnesota State Fair.
When Hann assumed the role of state GOP chairman in 2021, the party was in disarray.
His predecessor, Jennifer Carnahan, was forced to step down due to controversies surrounding her alleged personal and professional conduct, including her association with GOP donor Anton Lazzaro, who was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Carnahan filed a lawsuit against the state party, claiming that the comments made about her had tarnished her reputation and made it impossible for her to find work. The party countersued, and both sides aired their grievances publicly, revealing claims of a toxic work environment, financial mismanagement, and failure to address sexual harassment allegations.
According to GOP activist Sheri Auclair, the party had lost its identity.
“Right now, there is no [Minnesota Republican Party] brand,” Auclair stated. “Right now, the state party is in ruins.”
Hann was appointed to complete Carnahan’s term, a position he had previously run for and lost to her in 2017. He secured a second two-year term in December.
His most significant challenge is securing funding from a dwindling pool of donors, ensuring that the party can mount a strong campaign in 2024 to regain control of the House.
“Our entire operation lacks the necessary financial strength,” Hann explained. “Part of my work has been to build a more sustainable support base among our donors so that we don’t enter an election year with no funds, staff, or infrastructure. Our success will depend on a select few races and our ability to sway independent voters.”
While Minnesota has traditionally leaned blue, recent years have seen increased competitiveness. Former President Donald Trump made significant gains in the state’s conservative and rural areas. However, the political landscape shifted, paving the way for a liberal takeover this year.
Less than a year ago, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s six-vote majority in the House would not have been enough to enact significant policy changes on issues like abortion. The majority relied on four votes from socially conservative rural areas. However, in the November elections, three of those representatives lost their races. Meanwhile, the DFL made gains in the suburbs of St. Paul and Minneapolis, allowing them to flip the state Senate and secure a 70-64 majority in the House. These lawmakers enthusiastically embraced a highly liberal agenda that Hann likened to socialism.
Empowered by their victories, Democratic lawmakers swiftly passed a series of highly liberal bills. These included groundbreaking pro-labor legislation, laws protecting and expanding abortion rights, granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, legalizing marijuana, implementing background checks for private gun transfers, establishing a red-flag warning system, restoring voting rights to former felons, raising taxes on small businesses, mandating carbon-free utilities by 2040, providing free school meals for all students, and creating a refuge program for transgender individuals denied care in other states.
Nearly every item on the DFL’s agenda, as well as the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s agenda, was successfully passed. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman exclaimed, “Whoa, holy buckets!” at the end of the legislative session, while state AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham declared that lawmakers had passed “the most pro-worker policy agendas Minnesotans have seen in more than a generation.”
Governor Tim Walz celebrated the bills’ passage with a bill-signing party, complete with the University of Minnesota marching band.
These liberal policies were made possible by a historic $17.5 billion budget surplus inherited by lawmakers, who wasted no time in spending it. They were well aware that the conditions for enacting such radical changes might not align again for quite some time.
Republicans are banking on the fact that the DFL’s victories may not be sustainable in the long run. They believe that the party will eventually have to answer to the public for their rushed legislation, which may not align with the desires of their constituents. Additionally, they anticipate unintended consequences, such as the burden the family and medical leave bill will place on small businesses or the strain on local resources due to out-of-state women seeking abortions in Minnesota.
Even if Republicans manage to secure the House in the next election, it does not guarantee that the legislation passed this year will be reversed or amended. Democrats will still control the Senate until 2026, and Governor Walz will likely veto any significant Republican-led bills that reach his desk.
Despite these challenges, Hann remains optimistic that a victory would be the first step toward achieving a more balanced state.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, including its leadership, but did not receive a response.
Stay tuned for part three of the Washington Examiner’s Minnesota series, where we explore the unintended consequences of the recently passed abortion bill.
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