Former legislator Jim Newberger has jumped into the race for Minnesota Republican Party Chair, the first candidate to seek the job since Jennifer Carnahan's sudden resignation last week.
Newberger, a 2018 U.S. Senate candidate who served three terms representing a central Minnesota House district, announced his run Tuesday evening to a group of activists in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District. He enters the race less than a week after Carnahan's resignation and a weeklong scandal that has engulfed Republican Party politics.
The arrest of prominent GOP donor Anton "Tony" Lazzaro on sex trafficking charges opened the door to criticism of Carnahan, who co-hosted a podcast with him and brought him into the party. Other allegations have emerged about a toxic workplace culture under Carnahan at the state party offices, where leaders played favorites and retaliated against employees who didn't fall in line.
Party leaders approved a full financial audit as well as an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment that emerged from women who worked with the party.
Newberger did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
Other names have circulated as potential candidates to lead the state party out of the crisis, including Kelly Fenton, who served two terms representing a Woodbury state House district. Fenton served as deputy chairman of the party in 2011 after the sudden resignation of its leaders amid a ballooning debt crisis.
Michael Vekich, an accountant who did a deep dive into the party's finances after the 2011 scandal, has also been floated as a potential GOP chair candidate.
State Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, ran against Carnahan for chair earlier this year but said he opted not to make another bid for the role, in part because of legislative positions he wants to continue holding. He said Wednesday that he was shocked only one person had said they were running so far.
"As long as they are not literally working to push people out of the party, we will be light-years ahead," Koran said. "We'll take care of our business, and we'll clean up this mess that the chair has."
The party's state central committee delegates will meet Oct. 2 to elect a new party chair, according to a letter that went out Wednesday to delegates.
The vote for a new chair comes one year ahead of the pivotal midterm elections, in which the governor's office, eight seats in Congress and control of the Legislature are on the ballot. Republicans haven't won a statewide race in more than 15 years.
In the letter to delegates, Deputy Republican Party Chair Carleton Crawford said the party is "firmly committed to conducting a fair and transparent process through these uncertain times with the ultimate goal of electing Republicans across the state in 2022."
Briana Bierschbach • 651-925-5042
Twitter: @bbierschbach
