MN Dem Chair 'Disavows' Candidate Accused Of Stalking GOP Opponent

ALEXANDRIA, MN— Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party has disavowed a local party unit's endorsement of a candidate with a violent criminal history and is accused of stalking the Republican incumbent he's up against.

Democrat Judd Hoff was endorsed earlier this month to run against Alexandria-area Republican Rep. Mary Franson. The state Democratic Party publicly distanced themselves from Hoff hours after Minnesota Republicans denounced the endorsement on Monday.

"Saturday’s endorsement of Judd Hoff by the Minnesota DFL normalizes his threatening behavior towards Representative Mary Franson and normalizes the increased rancor and crime that disturbingly continues to escalate within politics today," said Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann.

"The Minnesota DFL must urgently and unequivocally condemn this type of behavior and take immediate action to rescind its endorsement of Judd Hoff. The conduct displayed by DFL-endorsed candidate Judd Hoff has no place in a civilized democracy or in any political party."

Hoff was convicted of second-degree assault after wielding a 23-inch machete in 2020. He received a 13-month jail sentence and served 8 months of it, the Associated Press reported.

In a YouTube video shared by former GOP operative Michael Brodkorb, Hoff admitted to digging through Franson’s garbage and moving across the street from her.

"The kind of violent and threatening behaviors that Mr. Hoff has engaged in have no place in the Minnesota DFL party," Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic Party, said Monday hours after the GOP statement.

"The Minnesota DFL strongly disavows this endorsement, and I have asked the local unit in question to withdraw their endorsement immediately. The Minnesota DFL will not spend any of our resources on behalf of Mr. Hoff."

Franson — who has been in office since 2011 — represents a heavily Republican district. She won with 70 percent of the vote in 2022.