MN Republican Candidate Goes Rogue, Won't Abide By Party's Endorsement

TWIN CITIES, MN — Republican Doug Wardlow announced Tuesday that he will continue to run his campaign for state attorney general despite losing his party's endorsement on Saturday.

On Friday, the party delegates voted to endorse Jim Schultz in the attorney general’s race. Wardlow rejected the decision and — in a video — said that the "Rhino swamp got its way" and that "my opponents brokered a backroom deal to wrest away the endorsement."

"The fix was in," Wardlow said. He also accused Schultz of running a smear campaign.

Wardlow lost to Ellison in the race for attorney general in 2018.

Schultz responded Tuesday, stating that "Wardlow has lost my respect and that of the hundreds of thousands of Republican Party faithful who took him at his word."

"Doug has now lost three consecutive elections. Should he move forward with his plans, we will make it four consecutive elections in August," Schultz added.

The state Republican Party also weighed in to condemn Wardlow's announcement.

"Not only did Doug Wardlow publicly commit to abiding by the party’s endorsement, Wardlow promised the MNGOP Nominations Committee that he would abide by the party’s endorsement," said Republican Party of Minnesota executive director Mike Lonergan.

"At the time, we assumed Doug Wardlow to be sincere, but sadly it seems it was an empty promise. We ask Doug Wardlow to honor the commitment he made to delegates and respect their decision by ending his campaign for Attorney General. If he does not, the Republican Party of Minnesota is 100 percent committed to defending our endorsement in the primary."

Minnesota Republicans endorsed Dr. Scott Jensen Saturday night to challenge Tim Walz in the 2022 gubernatorial election.