Crime, abortion at center of Minnesota attorney general’s race
Jim Schultz walked the halls of the Wright County jail on Wednesday with a superintendent to better understand the challenges local law enforcement officials were facing.
The 36-year-old Republican attorney and first-time political candidate is vying to unseat DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison. Despite not having prosecuted a case before, Schultz launched a bid to unseat Ellison, 59, a former congressman and self-described “people’s lawyer.”
Recent polls showed the two in a statistical dead heat heading into the final month before Election Day. On Friday, Schultz and Ellison are set to debate for the first time in a conversation hosted by MPR News at noon.
Ahead of that event, Schultz has staked his bid on a message of boosting public safety in Minnesota, arguing that Ellison hasn’t done enough to keep people safe. In a series of television ads, news conferences and visits with law enforcement groups, Schultz has tried to hammer his message home.
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“What I call these past few years is a man-made disaster, because it didn't have to be this way. We could have embraced sensible policies that address the extraordinary crime that is crippling communities, taking lives and damaging lives,” Schultz said.
So far, the efforts to campaign as tough on crime have helped Schultz attract endorsements from county sheriffs and public safety organizations, as well as labor unions. And money has flown into the state as Republicans try to snap a five decades DFL hold on the office.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is among about two dozen sheriffs that have publicly stated their support for Schultz in the contest. He chose to back Schultz after Ellison supported a 2021 Minneapolis ballot measure that would have replaced the city’s police department with a public safety agency.
“He has been missing in action when it comes to public safety discussions and public safety agenda to make our community safe,” Fletcher said. “What's worse is that Keith Ellison supported eliminating the Minneapolis Police Department.”
The effort to amplify the conversation about crime came after recent polls called the topic one of Minnesotans’ top three issues, along with inflation and abortion.
Tim Lindberg, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, said Minnesotans were aware of the recent rise in violent crime and were interested in solutions, even if that office has a limited role in delivering them.
Because Schultz is new to the political scene, he could have an easier time building inroads with police groups, Lindberg said.
“It's not like he's bringing experience, but he's also not bringing a lot of baggage that you could imagine some other candidates might (bring) to that position,” he said. “And so I think that that's been a strength, and it's allowed law enforcement officials across the state in different capacities to really endorse that.”
Ellison has defended his support for the Minneapolis amendment, and challenged Schultz’s characterization of what the attorney general’s office can do to affect violent crime.
While the office can step in to assist county attorneys if they ask for help with criminal cases or if the governor pulls them from a local prosecutor’s office, most cases are handled by county or city law enforcement agencies and local prosecutors. Ellison said he has a strong track record in that regard, while Schultz has never argued a case in court.
“He's literally promising to stop crime in Minnesota when he does not, as the attorney general, have the legal authority to do so. It is a total bait and switch,” Ellison told a crowd at Northrop Auditorium. “But I'll tell you one thing, counties do call on us to prosecute violent crime. And we do, (we’ve) never lost a case.”
Ellison touted his office’s no-loss record in handling local violent crime cases, including prosecuting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. And he listed other wins from his first term, including defending access to abortion in Minnesota, protecting consumers against price gouging and settling with drug companies to bring money for opioid treatment into the state.
A handful of county attorneys last week endorsed Ellison, along with several former county attorneys and attorneys general. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was one of those who backed Ellison and said he was instrumental in getting Chauvin’s conviction.
“Keith understands our work, and we can count on him and we reach out,” Freeman said. “He came when I called and the governor asked him to, and that made a hell of a lot of difference.”
Both candidates have said they would seek to grow the team of prosecutors that can be tapped to assist county attorneys with violent crime cases. Ellison has added two attorneys to that branch and asked the Legislature for more, with no luck.
Schultz, meanwhile, has said he would add 30 additional attorneys to that section and move prosecutors from other divisions, if lawmakers don’t approve a budget increase.
Ellison also focused his campaigning in the last several weeks on abortion access in Minnesota. He said he would protect pregnant people who come to the state seeking an abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the constitutional right to an abortion, as well as to those who provide abortions in Minnesota. And he has called into question Schultz’s willingness to do the same.
Schultz previously served in a leadership role with the nonprofit Human Life Alliance, a group that works to raise awareness to make abortion “not just illegal but unthinkable.” And he has changed his public position about what restrictions should be placed on abortion in the state following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June.
Advocates for abortion access have said Schultz’s prior role working with “crisis pregnancy centers” raised red flags about how he would address the issue, if elected.
“Jim Schultz has made it abundantly clear what his position is that he will use his power to strip Minnesotans of their rights. And we just simply cannot let that happen,” said Sarah Stoesz, president of the regional Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “We know what's at stake. In this election, we know that access to reproductive health care is absolutely, positively on the ballot.”
Schultz told MPR News that he would fight to uphold Minnesota’s laws on abortion but wouldn’t work with attorneys from other states who could prosecute people traveling to Minnesota for abortion services.
“I'm pro-life and I’m not ashamed of that. But the job of the attorney general is to enforce and defend Minnesota law. And that's what I'll do, whatever it is, irrespective of my own personal views in the matter,” Schultz said.
Whether it’s abortion or crime or inflation, Schultz and Ellison hope to spend the last 26 days of the campaign convincing voters that they have the better position.