Maple Grove Attorney Exits AG Race After Missing Out On GOP Nomination

MAPLE GROVE, MN — Maple Grove attorney Dennis Smith ended his campaign to be Minnesota’s next attorney general after failing to secure the Republican Party’s nomination at its recent convention.

Smith, a former GOP state representative, tweeted Tuesday he will throw his “full support” behind the party’s preferred candidate, Jim Schultz.

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“Now is not the time for division, it is time for a unified Republican effort to reclaim the MN AG’s Office,” he said in a statement.

Smith said he launched his campaign to replace incumbent DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison and backed Schultz to “strengthen our party and win the AG’s Office in November.”

Schultz, a business attorney, is set to face off Aug. 9 in the Republican primary against Doug Wardlow, the party’s 2018 nominee for attorney general. Wardlow serves as general counsel at MyPillow, founded by Mike Lindell, an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported.

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Wardlow called Smith and Schultz “creatures of the swamp” on Tuesday, the report states.

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