Republican Matt Birk Attacks Ex-GOP Operative For DWI, Adultery

TWIN CITIES, MN — Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Matt Birk went into attack mode on Twitter Tuesday night after a poll showed his running mate, Scott Jensen, is down double digits to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

Birk went after Michael Brodkorb, a former Minnesota Republican campaign strategist who has been a vocal critic of Birk and Jensen's campaign for governor.

On Twitter, Brodkorb said a KSTP poll released Tuesday confirmed what he has been saying all along; that Jensen and Birk are not up to the challenge of defeating Walz.

Birk took issue with the criticism, and in a reply, referenced Brodkorb's criminal history and an affair he had with former Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

According to state court documents, Brodkorb was convicted of a DWI in 2013 in Dakota County. The affair became public in 2011.

Birk's attack came after he promised to turn his campaigning "up to 11" in response to the KSTP poll.

The poll found that Walz leads Jensen by 51 percent to 33 percent. Walz leads Jensen in every part of the state except western Minnesota, according to the poll.

In contrast to his running mate, Jensen's reaction was more subdued.

The Republican campaign for governor has been marred by controversial statements, including a comment from Jensen comparing COVID-19 lockdown measures to the Holocaust. Birk's anti-abortion "rape card" comment also drew criticism.

"If I hear any more of this Holocaust stuff, I'll never talk to you again," conservative newspaper columnist Joe Soucheray told Jensen last week in an interview. "That was utter embarrassing BS. I don't stand for it. I can't take it."

Soucheray then directed his focus to Birk, saying; "I've got news for you. Women don't intend to stay barefoot and pregnant."

Meanwhile, Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are running a relatively quiet campaign.

The analysts at the Cook Political Report say Minnesota's race for governor is "likely" to go to Democrats on Election Day.