Republican Doug Wardlow runs for Minnesota attorney general
Republican Doug Wardlow announced Wednesday he's running again for Minnesota attorney general.
Wardlow lost the 2018 race to Democrat Keith Ellison by about 4 percentage points.
Wardlow is a former state lawmaker who now serves as general counsel for MyPillow, whose founder, Mike Lindell, has spent months spreading misinformation in support of former President Donald Trump's false claims of victory in the presidential race.
Wardlow issued a statement accusing Ellison of politicizing the attorney general's office, allowing crime to skyrocket and doing harm to businesses and employees instead of being their ally. He said Minnesotans deserve an attorney general who will defend their rights while ensuring that those responsible for violence and lawlessness are brought to justice.
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin countered with a statement calling Wardlow a right-wing extremist who will do anything for political power and has become only more extreme since his loss in 2018. Citing Wardlow's ties to Lindell, Martin said Wardlow provides legal advice to a man who wants to overturn a free and fair election.
No Republican has won Minnesota's attorney general's race since Doug Head in 1966. And no GOP candidate has won statewide office in Minnesota since Gov. Tim Pawlenty was reelected in 2006.
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