Republicans see state fraud scandal as a path back to power
Former sportscaster Michele Tafoya won the Republican nomination for Minnesota’s Senate seat in Tuesday’s primary, while state House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the party’s gubernatorial primary. The Associated Press reported that their victories created a newly minted GOP ticket and renewed optimism among Republicans seeking to end a 20-year statewide losing streak.
No Republican had won a statewide race in Minnesota for 20 years. That history prompted some party strategists to view candidates perceived as too extreme as a poor fit for the state’s left-of-center electorate.
Tafoya and Demuth both defeated rivals seen by some GOP strategists as too extreme for Minnesota. Their victories gave the party one nominee for the Senate and another for governor.
The newly aligned ticket immediately focused its attacks on Democrats and the state-government fraud scandal. Dozens of people have been convicted of taking hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide food, shelter, healthcare and childcare to people in need.
“We have seen now what all of these years of single-party rule has done to this state,” Tafoya said Wednesday. “And it is mobilizing voters in a way that I think is new and refreshing and exciting. And that’s what we’re going to tap into.”
Tafoya said Republicans would draw on the voter response she described. Her comments presented the fraud issue and the party’s arguments about Democratic governance as central to the campaign ahead.
Tuesday’s results gave Republicans a joint ticket but did not end the statewide losing streak that made the victories noteworthy. The Associated Press reported that some party members believe the fraud scandal could help restore the party to statewide relevance.
In a preview of Minnesota’s primary, MSI reported that Republicans were choosing Senate and gubernatorial nominees on Tuesday as they sought to end a 20-year statewide losing streak. The results reported Wednesday gave the party a Senate nominee in Tafoya and a governor nominee in Demuth, completing the ticket that the earlier report had anticipated.